I Dream of Twilight Sparkle
by Salnalus
Summary: Twilight and Spike are rewarded some earned vacation time. Their chosen Destination? The land of Saddle Arabia, where Twilight ends up getting more then she bargained for. Spike and Twilight finds themselves in a situation they never thought was ever going to happen. And with such limited time, Twilight has to make the hardest decision of her entire life.
1. Chapter 1

Twilight and Spike were in the sky for quite a while. Hot air balloons weren't exactly fast, but at least they got a pretty beautiful bird's eye view of Equestria from up there. On the way to Saddle Arabia, they looked at high-up views of familiar places. The Everfree forest, the Ruins in which Nightmare Moon was defeated, Dodge City, Appleoosa, and Ghastly Gorge. But those were just some of the places they saw.

It had been long before they had made it to the San Palomino desert, but they were still on the side opposite of where Saddle Arabia was. Luckily for Twilight, she brought some good books to read along the way; Spike however, didn't have the same pleasure, as he underestimated how long the trip was going to take. So he didn't bring anything to amuse him other than some snacks. Of course, you know what happens when someone his age get bored on long trips. They start asking questions like, "Are we there yet?", which got really aggravating after a while.

Finally, they had the first sight of Saddle Arabia seen over the side of the basket. The Princess had told Twilight about the age of the buildings, but she didn't say how _beautiful_ the buildings were. At least, beautiful to the studious unicorn mare. It was astounding.

From a distance, it looked like the entire city was made out of gold. Twilight and Spike just stared awestruck as they got ever so closer to the grand beauty of the city. In short time they landed, and as Twilight's hooves and Spike's feet touched sand, it felt hot to the touch. Of course, they were just trying to get used to hot sand after being up in the cold air for so long.

Why were they going to Saddle Arabia? There was a reason, and it had been for Twilight Sparkle.

* * *

It all started like any normal day. It was the weekend and a time for relaxation. Twilight was hitting the books until suddenly Spike felt that familiar in his stomach again. "Hey, Twilight..."

Twilight averted her attention from the book she was reading to look down at Spike. "What is it, Spike?" She noticed he was gripping his stomach with his claws. "Are you hungry? Do you have a stomachache? Is it a letter from the Princess?"

Spike then belched a letter out of his mouth. Twilight picked it up, and began to read it, surprised about receiving a letter from out of nowhere.

_Dear Twilight, my most faithful student,_

_I know you have realized by now that you, along with all your friends, have done so much for Equestria. I cannot express in words how your actions have changed it for the better in some occasions._

_I know this may seem out of nowhere, but I feel you should be rewarded for your efforts. Therefore, I am proposing some vacation time for you to any place in Equestria of your choosing. However, because of a few issues regarding your travel, I am sorry to say that your friends cannot come, and I am deeply sorry for that._

_However, if you choose to accept, you can at least bring along Spike with you. I am sure he would love to travel with you to wherever you so choose to go. If you accept, I will arrive in Ponyville shortly after you've made your decision._

_Princess Celestia_

"Oh my... I didn't think we would ever receive such a reward!" Twilight was simply ecstatic about the reward, if it wasn't noticeable. "Still, it's a shame we can't bring any of our friends. At least I get to bring you, Spike."

"Yeah, at least we get to spend some time together..." Spike rubbed the back of his neck. "Still, I was going to spend the next two days helping out Rarity with her dresses, and other things."

"Spike, would you really do that?"

"Well, no.. but if it's for Rarity, then I'd do _anything_..." Hearts appeared in Spike's eyes. Twilight rolled her eyes while giving a slight chuckle.

"Ok, Romeo, it's time to stop thinking about Rarity, and time to start looking for a good vacation spot. Princess Celestia said in her letter that we can choose wherever in Equestria we want to go. Maybe if we look through a few reference guides, we'll be sure to find someplace noteworthy to have our vacation." Twilight turned away from her #1 assistant towards one of the sections of the many bookcases. She carefully organized each and every single book in the library so that, if she ever needed to look through the bookcases, she or Spike could remember where to find what they need easily. Spike did the same, browsing through the vast collection for something that they can use to choose their destination.

After about half an hour of searching, Spike was exhausted. He was about to collapse until a sudden squeal from Twilight caught him by surprise. "Spike, I may have found just what we're looking for! Come over here." Spike groaned, holding his head as he walked over to where Twilight positioned the book on a table. It was a pretty big encyclopedia that indexed many of the places in Equestria. They scanned the pages, looking through to find a suitable location.

There were many places in Equestria to consider. One of the first places they considered: La Pegasus. It was a pretty interesting location, bustling with all sorts of activity, but maybe not something they could get used to. Another location they considered: Manehatten. This city was the closest to Canterlot; not in terms of distance, but in similarity and class. Granted, it was just a city, and not much of a vacation spot. The next place on the list was Horseshoe Bay. It was a nice beach with a calm atmosphere, something the studious mare really liked. That was definitely on the list of recommended spots.

Spike pointed out another possible place for them to go, and that was Neighagra Falls. It, like Horseshoe Bay, had a calming atmosphere, but this one seemed to be more relaxing and serene, a really great choice to pick. It was a popular camping spot, and camping was something Twilight and Spike wanted to do for a while now. That was now the choice they were going for, but they decided to keep looking, just in case they found yet another great locale.

Then, they found that one location. It didn't seem as impressive as the others, but what caught Twilight's attention was the interest factor of the place. It was located somewhere within the San Palomino Desert, a far distance inward. The name: Saddle Arabia. Twilight had always wondered what a place near or in a desert was like, and that's what got her attention. Reading up on it showed many different things about Saddle Arabia. The one thing that she saw that interested her the most was that it had a library of it's own. She thought that if she went there, she could find some great foreign books and scrolls, so if there was a reason for her going, it was for the literature. As for Spike, there were rare, deliciously exquisite Arabian gems just calling his name there, figuratively of course. However, they had to admit, it was an odd location for a vacation spot, seeing as it was all the way across a vast desert. However, despite that, the information said it was still fairly populated, so obviously there must be something there if ponies still live there despite its seemingly desolate location.

That's when they made their choice, and Twilight smiled with delight. "It may seem like an odd place for a location, but everything we read about it seemed interesting enough for us to enjoy. I'll get to see what kinds of books and scrolls they could have there, and you can snack off their gems. We both have our reasons to go there! Are you up for a trip to Saddle Arabia?" She looked down at Spike, who seemed to have a smile of his own.

"Yep, Saddle Arabia it is! Hmm, I wonder what about those Arabian gems makes them different from the gems we normally get around here." Spike made his way to a drawer, and opened it up, pulling out a decently-sized Sapphire. "Are they any different than something like this Sapphire? A gem's a gem, after all." He started sucking on it afterward.

"Yeah, well, let's just get ready. But first, we must send a letter to Princess Celestia, telling her that we decided where to go. Are you ready?"

With that, Spike had already had a quill and pen out, ready to write whatever Twilight had to say. She cleared her throat, and began to speak.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_Spike and I looked through everything in the library for something we can use to select a good place for that vacation you offered us. First of all, we'd like to say that Spike and I have accepted your offer, and will be glad to take the opportunity! Granted, __it's a shame you weren't able to have us bring along Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy for the ride, I'm sure you wanted them to enjoy it as well._

_Anyway, we have chosen our destination, and are ready for your arrival. We will be waiting in front of the library for your arrival._

_Your eager student,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

Spike rolled up the parchment, and as he breathed flame on the scroll, it magically flew away towards Canterlot."So, while we wait for the Princess to get here, what do we do?"

"I think we should tell our friends about this little vacation of ours. Shall we?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. We wouldn't want them wondering where we just suddenly disappeared off to, and have them start worrying about us... especially Pinkie Pie. When she freaks out about anything, you'll definitely want to steer clear of her." Spike rolled his eyes at the thought. He hopped up onto Twilight's back, and she started walking towards the door. With the purple-pink glow of her horn, the door opened, and they headed their way out.

* * *

It hadn't been long before Twilight and Spike gathered all five of the other ponies of the bunch together. Twilight went off to get Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy while Spike fetched Rarity and Pinkie Pie. It took a little while for Rarity, since she was a bit busy, and of course, Spike was a bit busy trying not to fawn over her beauty. Either way, they all met outside Twilight's library, the other five wondering what the meeting was about.

Applejack was the first to speak. "Alright Twilight, ya got us all here. Now can ya explain what the hay this meeting's about?"

"Yeah, Twilight. What is the reason? I was busy doing something!" Rainbow Dash hovered above the ground with her hooves crossed next to Fluttershy, who was staring at her.

Twilight, however, gave her a blank stare. "Rainbow Dash, you were sleeping on a cloud. I don't think that qualifies as 'being busy'."

"Oh yeah? Well, uh... oh, nevermind. You got me."

Rarity shook her head in disbelief, then turned to Twilight. "Honestly, what are we here for? If a meeting is taking place, it must be about something important."

"It is, Rarity. I'll explain." Twilight took a deep breath, and exhaled. "You see, because of the hard work, determination, bravery, and heroism we expressed since the time we defeated Nightmare Moon, we've done all sorts of things to help Equestria as a whole, in some occasions. Now, I have some good news to share, as well as some bad news. The good news is that Princess Celestia sent me a letter explaining that because of this, she is offering me a vacation to the location of my choice!"

After hearing that, the other five ponies cheered in their place, obviously happy for the reward they were getting.

"But..."

When they heard that, they suddenly stopped, and listened closely.

"The bad news is that the Princess couldn't arrange for all seven of us to go." Her ears drooped down, as well as her head. The faces around all of them shifted to one of sadness. They were happy that their best friend was able to have a vacation to anywhere in Equestria she wanted to go, but they would've been happy to go as well. Pinkie was the one who seemed the most upset, as her head was so low, her chin was touching the ground.

"I'm so sorry, girls. I'll promise all of you though, I'll be back as soon as I'm done with my vacation, and I'll bring back some souvenirs! I won't be gone long. In fact-"

Twilight was cut off by Pinkie, who spotted something large headed their way, to which she pointed at with her hoof. "Hey everypony, look! A big hot air balloon waaaaaaaaaay over there!"

As they all looked where Pinkie gestured, they all saw what she indicated. Approaching them was Princess Celestia riding her royal carriage, followed by what seems to be a hot air balloon. Everypony stared as the two Pegasus guards pulled the carriage towards them, stopping as they landed right in front of the group.

"Hello, my little ponies." Celestia came down from her carriage, standing tall in front of the group of seven. She turned to face Twilight with a smile. "So I believe you chose your location. Where would you like to go?"

Twilight and Spike looked at each other, and nodded simultaneously before looking back at the Princess. "We choose Saddle Arabia."

She just stared back at Twilight for a few seconds. "Saddle Arabia? Not a very popular choice for a vacation. I'm quite surprised, but it's still a great choice. Believe it or not, most of the buildings there are even older than I am. That shows how ancient it is. However, they're usually refurbished every now and then, so even if they are eons old, they still look fairly new."

"Wow, I didn't think a place could be so old, yet so new." Twilight really did look surprised, even after everything she read in the book about it.

Celestia nodded in response. "Yes, but who knows how much it's changed? I don't visit there very often, and therefore don't know much about its history. But seeing as you will be going there, that could be a chance for you to learn something about it. As for it's location being in the desert..." Celestia giggled a bit. "The Saddle Arabians, or at least some of them I have noticed during my times there, blame me for it being so hot over there, considering I move the sun every day. I'm afraid of that, actually. I'm not one hundred percent sure it's true, but you can't be too careful."

The group made their own chuckles and giggles over the joke, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie being the most noticeable. "Really? Ponies blaming the Princess for making their home too hot? Oh, that's rich!"

"Yes, Rainbow Dash, I can see why that may be silly, but like I said, you can't be too careful."

No matter how awkward the situation may have turned, Twilight seemed all the more eager by the trip to Saddle Arabia. "I can't believe I've chosen a place even Princess Celestia doesn't know much about. That makes this trip even more interesting! And I see we're traveling there via hot air balloon."

Everypony looked behind Celestia to the hot air balloon, which had just landed behind her. "Well, this is the only available transportation I could get for you, especially considering you didn't tell me where you were going when you sent me that letter, but even so, it's the only available transportation anyway. There's no trains that stretch as far as the San Palomino Desert, and nopony would dare trek there by hoof."

"Yes, I see." Twilight walked towards the basket, looking around it. Spike followed close behind, examining it as well. She could see now why the Princess said she couldn't bring the other five ponies along. The basket was particularly cramped, as if it only was made to carry about two ponies. With Spike going, there still wouldn't be enough room to bring another pony, and even if there was, Twilight didn't want to choose between her friends again. It didn't turn out so well the first time.

She nodded, and looked back at the other ponies, and smiled. "Well, it looks like this is it, for now. I won't be gone long, so I will see you all soon. One last group hug?" Twilight opened an arm, and all of the ponies approached Twilight and embraced each other in one last hug. Spike even got a part in the hug. Once they all let go of each other, Twilight turned to face the Princess, and hugged her as well. "Goodbye, Princess Celestia. I'll write you about my time in Saddle Arabia when I get back."

The Princess nodded back with a hoof wrapped around her student. "Be safe, and I hope all goes well for you. Have a great time." After a few more seconds of the hug, Celestia let go, and twilight walked back to the basket. As she climbed inside, Spike tried to go it, but the side of the basket was a bit too big for him. She giggled a bit, and levitated him inside using her magic. She turned back to everypony, and waved a hoof, and so did Spike. "Goodbye everypony."

All of the others waved back as the balloon lifted up into the air. As time went on, the balloon flew away more and more until it was practically nonexistent to the earthbound ponies in Ponyville.

With that, Twilight and Spike's trip to Saddle Arabia began.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't much of a surprise when Twilight and Spike arrived in Saddle Arabia. The trip was long and exhausting, even if they were flying by hot air balloon the whole time, but they were relieved when they finally made it.

It was parked not too far from the edge of the city; in fact, it was directly on the border. As Twilight's hooves and Spike's feet trekked through the hot sand, they noticed the ponies around them. The Saddle Arabians were indeed ponies, but they looked mildly different. Their eye shapes were a bit more narrowed, and their body shapes resembled that of horses. Still, they were ponies, and Twilight didn't want to give any first impressions on them just because of the way they looked. In fact, she was a bit fascinated by the fact that there were ponies that looked different than the variety she was used to.

They didn't seem to be shocked or surprised in any way that an outsider, or rather, two outsiders if Spike was included, visited their city from far away. In fact, they somehow knew that they were expecting visitors, which is why most of them were outside at the time. One of the Saddle Arabians enthusiastically trotted up to Twilight and Spike, and greeted them with a bow.

"Greetings, visitors. Welcome to Saddle Arabia. If you wish it, I can be your guide."

Twilight was the first to speak. "Of course, and thank you! My name is-"

"Twilight Sparkle. Yes, we have heard of you. In fact, all of Saddle Arabia had expected your arrival. We had been sent word from Princess Celestia herself that you would be coming."

"The Princess had sent word here?" Twilight looked down at Spike, who had a confused expression on his face. "She must have sent a letter here after our departure from Ponyville. She probably put in a good word for us."

"Indeed, she did, and even though we don't get many visitors here, if any at all, we would be afraid to scare you away by resorting to too much special treatment. However, if you would like, I may show you what our city has to offer." The pony gestured a hoof behind her, as to show Twilight and Spike what she meant by what the city had to offer. Of course, she meant the various buildings and markets.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I would like that."

Spike groaned at the thought. "Does that mean we're going to take a long time walking? The sand here is hot enough already. I don't want to tire my legs out."

Twilight giggled. "Don't worry, Spike. If it bothers you so much, you can ride on my back like you always do."

"Really? Aww, thanks Twilight. You're a really great friend." With that, Spike proceeded to climb up atop Twilight's back, happy that he can rest his legs, even if he didn't travel more than a few steps with them. Even if he was happy enough to do almost anything for Twilight, given that he was her #1 assistant, he would still be lazy in doing a few things; even some things as simple as walking.

"If you two are ready, we may begin the tour." With that, the guide turned around, and walked forward towards the main area of the Saddle Arabia town with Twilight and Spike in tow. Throughout the area, they saw many more of the Saddle Arabian ponies that filled the streets and the market ahead.

In the market area, every single stand sold many items. Some were filled with food, while others had various clothing native to the town. A few others had various pieces of decorations like pottery and body piercings. One of them had a few things that could be counted as souvenirs. That was definitely a stand Twilight would be looking at before she would return to Ponyville. It wouldn't hurt to get a few things for her friends, especially Pinkie Pie, who would accept anything from foreign lands.

The merchants standing behind each stand bore cutie marks that matched, or closely matched, what products they were selling. If anything, it made for the perfect advertisement. That is, if they walked around showing it.

But then Twilight remembered her top priority for even choosing Saddle Arabia as a vacation spot in the first place. "Excuse me, miss guide?"

The pony turned around to face Twilight with a smile. "Yes, how may I help you?"

"I was wondering... do you happen to know if there is any library here in Saddle Arabia? I would really love to check out what it may hold."

"Oh yes, indeed. Our library consists of many pieces of literature that suits the needs of basically anypony who happens to stumble upon it. We've had plenty a visitor before, and everypony who's walked into that library almost always comes out happy in the end!"

This served to excite Twilight even more. Sure, she already had so many books in her library, but why not add a couple more? She had forgotten to bring her saddlebag from the hot air balloon, but she would go back to get it later once the tour was over. "Can you lead us to this library? I would like to go there first."

"Certainly! Follow me." She turned her head back around and continued her walk through the desert area with Twilight and Spike close behind. In the direction they were headed, Twilight couldn't see it yet, but she was not about to question where they were going. She just decided to keep following the guide as she lead the way. A little bit past the market, she spotted What seemed to look like a hotel. As expected, it didn't look anything like hotels from the other cities in Equestria, but it was a hotel nonetheless. A thought occurred to Twilight. Perhaps she would take a look at this hotel once the tour is over, as it might provide a good place to stay while they enjoy their vacation.

After the small group of three passed it, a stallion partly walked out of one of the buildings on the opposite side of the hotel. From what could be seen, his coat was a soft beige color with a rather gruff-looking brown mane. On his face showed a bit of facial hair; namely a mustache with a goatee. Because the rear half of his body was in the shadows of hut he emerged from, his cutie mark was unable to be seen. He watched Twilight as she followed the guide to the library before slipping back into his hut.

* * *

After not much of a walk later, Twilight, Spike and the guide made it to Saddle Arabia's only library. From the outside, Twilight could've sworn it looked smaller outside than what she saw on the inside. Not that she cared, of course. A bigger library meant a happier Twilight Sparkle.

Books were lined up in shelves all over. The place was jam-packed with old and slightly new books, tomes, scrolls, and basically anything else anypony would expect to find in such a place. To the left of the entrance, a mare stood behind a counter, reading a book. She had a peach-colored coat with an orange mane. Her cutie mark appeared to be that of a bookmark. Twilight seemed to be a bit overjoyed, as the first thing she did upon entering was walk up to the counter to greet the mare.

"Hello there, miss librarian!"

The mare looked up from her book, and smiled from Twilight's greeting, placing the book down. "Greetings, visitor! Are you here for anything in particular?"

"Oh, nothing special. Just anything that seems exclusive to Saddle Arabia, among other things. Perhaps something along the lines of Saddle Arabian culture, for starters?"

The mare nodded happily. "In that case, what you are seeking will be found in the 'C' section. It stands for culture." As the mare said this, she pointed past Twilight where the indicated section was.

"Wait, you organize your whole library by letter?" Twilight held a raised brow up.

"That I do! Then genre, then letter again. It is what we're used to here in this city."

"I see... most libraries, like mine, organize them by genre first, then letter. It seems a bit complicated the other way round."

"You also own a library? You're a fellow librarian?"

Twilight beamed happily. "That I am! I am Twilight Sparkle, proud owner of the library of Ponyville."

It was now the mare's turn to smile with delight. "It is such a pleasure to meet a fellow librarian from another city. The chances of this happening seemed so very low, yet here we are!" She paused for a moment, realizing she had gotten a bit carried away with her excitement. "Oh, excuse my manners, Twilight Sparkle. I am usually excited for these sort of things. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kubuya Atka, the proud owner of this library in Saddle Arabia."

"In that case, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Kubuya. I'll just be looking through. Don't even mind me." Before she went off to search, she turned back to Spike. "Spike, I need you to go back to the hot air balloon. I seem to have left everything back there. Can you fetch my saddlebag? It has our bag of bits in it."

Spike stood tall and proud with a hand on his forehead in a saluting position. "Can do!" With that, he took off back out of the library.

"I'll watch over him for you, and guide him back here in case he gets lost." The guide then followed Spike back out the library.

"Well, that's good to know. This place has some great friendly hospitality! Now then, to find that book." She remembered where Kubuya had gestured to. As she made her way there, she gazed around at the vast collection of knowledge the library had to offer. It was like heaven to her; well, as much as it could look, given it's a library in a grand city in the middle of a desert.

No sooner did she find the book was she already fascinated by what she read inside. Apparently, there was a lot more to learn about the place than what she had seen of it. She beamed at the thought, and rushed to the front of the store. But then she remembered. She didn't have her bag of bits with her. Spike had been sent to get them, though. It looked like she would have to wait for him to return, and given how long it took for them to get from the front of the city to the library, it would be a long time. Luckily for her, she had time to spare.

A lot of time had passed since Spike left, and in that time, Twilight read all she could of the book pertaining to the city's ways and customs. She had felt ecstatic about everything she read, and couldn't wait to look around more after the tour. She even read up on the Saddle Arabian gems the city had to offer; something Spike would love to get his claws on. Twilight figured she would buy a few for Rarity when she got back to Ponyville, because she knew how much the fashionista adored gems.

Finally, Spike and the guide did get back after a while. In his claw, Spike held the saddlebag Twilight had asked for, although he had some difficulty. "I got the bits, Twilight!" As he found her seated by one of the walls, he noticed a couple of other books around her.

Twilight rose her head up, and looked at him with a smile, putting the book down. "Oh good, you're here! I found some more books, and I just know I'll enjoy them too." She rose up from her seat, and used the magic from her horn to first levitate the saddlebag onto her back, then carry all of the books towards the counter. "Excuse me, Kubuya. How much for all of these books?"

Kubuya looked at the relatively small pile of books situated in front of her. She expected more, given Twilight being another librarian like herself. She checked every book, and looked at Twilight with a smile. "Fifteen bits."

"Fifteen bits? I would've thought they cost more than that."

"Really? Fifteen bits seem like an almost high price here in Saddle Arabia. You wouldn't believe the amount everypony here gets from any tourists that come by."

"Hmm... that must explain it. Anyway..." As her horn glowed again, the bag of bits floated out of Twilight's saddlebag, and she took out the exact amount of change that was needed for the transaction. Kubuya happily accepted it, and Twilight placed the books inside. "Thank you very much! We'll be going now."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Twilight Sparkle. Do be sure to come by again!" She waved to Twilight and Spike in a friendly manner before they left the library completely. She smiled to herself before picking up the book she had been reading, and continued where she left off.

As the tour went on, Twilight and Spike saw many of the sights around the city. More of the market was shown, a few landmarks were visite4d, and they even entered a few indoor shops. They even stopped to buy a few gems Spike was literally fawning over. Twilight only giggled as he tried to resist sticking his claws directly inside the basket full of the delicious treats. If only to relieve him, Twilight bought a few for him, and the rest of the way, Spike sucked off of the flavor of it, enjoying the taste while it lasted.

Finally, after walking all around the city, the sky had been getting dark, and the trio had made it to the hotel Twilight had spotted earlier.

"Alright, Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Here is _Hotel de Arabia_, the only hotel in the city, but famous for its excellent service." The guide pointed up at the huge building, which was a bit taller than most buildings in Saddle Arabia, even if there weren't that many tall buildings. "It was a pleasure to be your guide, and I hope you enjoy your stay in Saddle Arabia!"

"Thank you for being our guide. Have a good night!" Twilight and Spike waved off the guide as she walked away towards her home. They both then faced each other and smiled as they entered the hotel.

They didn't expect much from the interior, and that's what they got. It had a very simplistic design, much like hotels in other cities. Twilight liked this, as she likes anything simple in design. If the yellow dress Rarity gave Twilight for her birthday wasn't a perfect example of her likeness of simplicity, nopony would know what was.

After a few words with the stallion in the front desk, and a walk up the stairs later, Twilight and Spike made it to their room on the third floor. Once Twilight's magic levitated the key inside the hole, and turned it, the door opened to reveal the room inside. It was like any average hotel. There was a bed, a bathroom, windows, and some tables in each room. It wasn't over-the-top fancy, but it made for a good temporary living space during their stay.

"So, this is our room, huh?" Spike took the moment to look around the room, admiring its features. "I gotta say, these Saddle Arabian ponies sure do know how to make a place look good! It's like they want to make up for the place being a rarely visited location that they made it worthwhile for anypony who comes here."

"That... actually is a good point, Spike. But please, I'm sure it's not anything like that." Twilight closed the door behind her as she levitated the saddlebag off of her back. "As much as I want to get started on some of those books, we really should get some sleep. Today has been a long day, and my hooves have surely been aching a bit from all of the walking we've been doing."

"I couldn't agree more." Spike hopped up onto the bed, landing into its softness. Twilight knew that, because there was no smaller beds for Spike to sleep in, she was going to share a bed with him.

"I guess, since there's only one bed, we're going to have to sleep together. I wouldn't want you sleeping on the cold floor now. But they could've provided more blankets. These ones are a bit... small." She picked up the blanket with one of her hooves, examining its size. She sighed as she laid onto the bed next to Spike.

"Twilight, even with the blanket, it's still a bit too small for the both of us."

Twilight thought about it for a brief moment. Then an idea came to her. "Well, I could cover most of myself up with the blanket, and you could stay close to me, and cover yourself up with my tail."

Spike gave Twilight a blank stare. "Your tail, as a blanket?"

"It's better than nothing, Spike."

"Good point. Fine, I'll take it."

Twilight beamed, and Spike scooted closer to Twilight's body in an attempt to stay warm. As she maneuvered her tail around Spike's body, she levitated the blanket over both of them as much as she could. It wasn't much as they had expected, but it was all they had. Spike snuggled a bit closer to Twilight, which invoked a small smile to appear on her face. Even if the nights were to be a bit uncomfortable, they were nothing compared to everything Twilight was going to experience for the rest of her vacation.

As her horn glowed, the lights turned off, and they both drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days in Saddle Arabia were quite nice. Twilight and Spike enjoyed many things while they were in the grand city. The hot sand beneath their hooves, or feet in Spike's case, was nothing compared to everything else that they saw. Twilight spent much of her time enjoying some of the books she bought from Kubuya's library, while Spike usually engorged himself with the gemstones native to the city.

Other than that, they went and visited many other buildings and shops. The market there had food that was exclusive to this area, so Twilight and Spike got to try a few new foods, and they were pretty good. Another area they found was a fortune-telling hut where they had their fortunes told to them. It was a bit bizarre, but also a bit fun. Another hut had various pottery shelves with fancy designs and shapes. Twilight found them particularly nice and decorative, and it gave the place a unique flair she hadn't seen many times before.

This one particular morning, however, had much in store for the lavender unicorn mare.

Back in the hotel room, Twilight woke up with a yawn and a stretch. The feeling in her back was less than comfortable, due to the small size of the bed and the fact that she had to share it. She turned her head to see Spike resting peacefully next to her, and smiled at the sight. She rose out of the bed, being careful not to wake up the sleeping dragon. Spike sure was a heavy sleeper, though considering his age, it was not much of a surprise. She looked out the window to see the bright morning sun rising over the horizon.

"Hmm, a bit early in the morning. Didn't realize I'd wake up at this time anytime soon, especially considering how I've been sleeping the past few days," she said to herself. She looked back to the bed, again to Spike as if he was the cause of her problems.. "No matter. A good walk out in the city to stretch out my hooves should do some good."

She turned back to her saddlebags, only for a thought to occur in her head before giving it an odd look. _I don't really need to bring this stuff, do I? Perhaps not. I'll come back for it later around the time Spike should wake up._

She turned to the door and opened it with her magic. After she stepped out, she glanced at Spike one last time before she left. She smiled to herself as she trotted down the hallway.

The interior of the hotel itself wasn't overall fancy, but it was something still amazing to the lavender unicorn, given the unique and impressive style that Saddle Arabians had.

As soon as she came outside, she breathed in the nice, fresh early morning air through her nostrils, and exhaled it out in a relaxing manner.. If there was anything she liked, it was stepping outside to catch the early rise of Celestia's sun, spreading its sunlight all over Ponyville. She wasn't in Ponyville anymore, but it didn't matter much to her when it was this nice out there.

The first thing she decided to tackle: visit Kubuya's library.

As she trotted cheerfully through the market district of Saddle Arabia, she noted a few ponies were already waiting at the stands, with a couple that waited for the other salesponies to arrive. She didn't really expect anypony else to be up this early like she was doing. It made them all the more interesting to her.

After a tour from the guide, Twilight got around to memorizing most of the city fairly quickly, just as she had done with Canterlot when she was a filly. No longer did she need somepony to point out the direction for a certain building whenever she decided to go there, as her memory proved to be something spectacular. Over the past few days, learning the turns everywhere was nothing to the smart unicorn.

She finally made her way to the library, and when she stepped inside, she was greeted by none other than the librarian herself.

"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville!"

"Good morning to you too, Kubuya, although you can just call me Twilight."

Kubuya smiled as she departed from her desk and waled towards Twilight. "Are you here to retrieve more books, or perhaps to return some?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would just like to hang out here for a while. At least until Spike wakes up from his sleep."

"Ah yes, the baby dragon." Kubuya raised a hoof to her chin in thought. "I was hoping to see him as well. I had a few books he would probably be interested in reading."

Twilight didn't think that was something that was true, given she had known Spike all his life. "I'm not sure if Spike would even be interested in reading. He doesn't do it that much at home back in Ponyville, even when I try to convince him to do more reading."

"Then maybe you would like to hear what the books are about first. One of them illustrates and explains about various gemstones around the world, and another tells things that are known by ponies about some of the history of dragons."

Twilight beamed at the subjects of the books she heard. She didn't think books like those existed, not after reading nearly every single book in her library. "Those are just perfect! But I think I'll wait to get Spike first. For now, I'd like to hang out here for a few minutes."

"Well, there's not really anything to do here in this library besides read books, especially since it is empty at this time. I just opened it about five minutes ago." Kubuya picked up two books from her desk, and walked over to one of the bookshelves. Twilight followed behind her in close proximity.

"We could just talk. I'd really like to get to know you more since, well, I haven't met any other librarians besides myself. I'd also like to know, from your perspective, what everypony around Saddle Arabia like to do."

While the busy librarian was putting one of the books in its proper place in one of the bookshelves, a smile formed on her face at the thought. "That sounds like an excellent idea!"

And so, they talked, though saying it was a simple chat was an understatement. Their conversation lasted for hours, talking about many of the various things to experience in Saddle Arabia, including its culture, its history, about the ponies that inhabit it, the general atmosphere, the weather, the shops, what makes it unique compared to other cities... basically everything.

As they talked and the hours went by, a few roaming ponies entered the library, reading through books, checking them out whenever Kubuya had to take a break from her conversation with Twilight. While the unicorn had other things to do, she generally didn't mind talking with a simple mare as nice as Kubuya for a few more minutes. It eventually got to the point where Twilight thought Spike would be awake after all that time.

"You know, as much as I like talking more about Saddle Arabia and everything you know about it, I think it's about time I should go. I have other things to do, and Spike should be waking up soon. I don't want him freaking out or anything if he sees that I'm not there, or I'm worried that he might secretly take my bag of bits and go off to buy himself more of those gems."

"It's alright, Twilight. I understand. I shall be busy myself, as I made a mental note to return a couple of returned books to their rightful places on the shelves."

"Oh, I could help with that! I have a knack for being very organizable."

"Oh, really? Are you sure you are not referring to me here?" Kubuya gave off a playful smile, which Twilight noticed almost immediately.

"You too? I wonder which of us is the more organizable."

They both stared at each other for a few seconds with raised eyebrows, before breaking out into simultaneous laughter. This went on for a few more seconds before Twilight finally calmed down. "Well, I should get going now. I'll stop by later when I have the time."

"Very well, Twilight. I shall see you in some time, then!"

Kubuya waved Twilight off as she left the library, with a very bright smile on her lips. She felt like she had gotten ten percent smarter after that morning, but now was the time to head back to the hotel for Spike.

Along the way, she noticed more of the Saddle Arabians out and about in the market than before. Given that it was a few hours later since Twilight had first entered the library, it made sense. The hotel was to the west of the library with the market in between, while the entrance to the city was south of the market, where Twilight and Spike arrived via hot air balloon.

Twilight had a smile on her face while she was trotting through the market, and she knew that she was going to enjoy the day like she had done in the days before. However, she was startled by somepony poking her backside. She jumped a little before turning around to see who had supposedly gotten her attention.

She saw a beige stallion with grizzly dark brown hair. He had a small goatee hanging from his chin. He looked a bit mysterious, but then again, he looked almost like any other Saddle Arabian stallion. He spoke in a rather gruff tone.

"Greeting, miss. I suppose you are a visitor here in our city, Saddle Arabia?"

Now he didn't seem so mysterious to the unicorn. In fact, he seemed nice. "Why, yes! I got here after taking a two day trip from home to here in a hot air balloon."

"Ah. I imagine it was quite a long trip. Were you lonesome for the entire time?"

"Oh, no. In fact, I was going to bring five of my friends back from Ponyville, but it seems I didn't have available accommodations for them to come. The only one I chose to bring with me is my number one assistant, Spike."

The stallion raised an eyebrow at the statement. Something wasn't quite right with it. "Spike? That's a peculiar name for a colt."

Twilight giggled in response. "Oh no, he's not a colt."

"Well, it seems even more odd to be a filly's name..."

"He's not a filly either. In fact, he's not even a pony. He's a dragon."

The stallion had now been staring at Twilight with disbelief. He thought that there was no way a pony like her could house a dragon. "That's... quite surprising. I do wonder how you were able to fit a big dragon inside your hot air balloon."

She then shook her head. "Oh, he's not that big of a dragon. He's a baby dragon. He's just about half the size of an average pony. He wishes he were bigger, though he doesn't complain about his current size. Being a dragon, he won't have to worry about it. The long life span of dragons will more than make up for how long it takes him to age."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure whatever the age, he'd love some of our exquisite Saddle Arabian gems. I've seen even full grown dragons having a hard time resisting the urge to come and grab some."

"I've read about them. I even got some for him in the past few days, and I was about to get more for him after I woke him up. In fact, I was just about to go back to get him when you got my attention."

"My apologies, miss Twilight."

"It's alright..." Twilight suddenly paused. She took another look at the stallion, now feeling he was a bit more mysterious than before. Something he said gave it away. "Excuse me, but how do you know my name? I never told you."

Much to her dismay, the stallion only laughed. Twilight wasn't sure what was so funny about him knowing her name like that. If anything, it made her a bit anxious being around him.

He calmed down after a while, and spoke to her again.

"It's quite simple, really. I know that you're Twilight Sparkle, one of the six embodiments of the Elements of Harmony. And not just any element, but the Element of Magic, making you the indisputable leader and perhaps even the most powerful of them all! I also know that you are Princess Celestia's star pupil, and a hero that saved all of Equestria not once, not twice, but three times! Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the Queen of the Changelings."

Now Twilight was impressed to hear that somepony from a faraway city knew of her past accomplishments. That didn't mean her suspicions weren't all clear just yet. "How do you know all this? Before I came here, I was told that barely anyone in Saddle Arabia really knew what went on in Ponyville and Canterlot the past few years." "Word gets around to some ponies more then you know, Twilight Sparkle. It's just not a national policy to give the Elements of Harmony a hero's welcome whenever they take a vacation somewhere."

Now that last statement was something Twilight definitely agreed on. "Perhaps that's for the best. Poor Fluttershy couldn't handle all that attention, especially after her time as a model. And to be honest, even I'd prefer to just go through my normal day without someone going, 'Look everypony! It's Twilight Sparkle, a national hero!'"

The stallion laughed at her apparent sense of humor. It was as if he hadn't heard something so funny in such a long time. "Now, how about I introduce myself to you? You know, since I know all about you, and you probably don't know anything about me."

"Of course not. But could we step inside somewhere? Standing out here in the sun is making me hot." Twilight waved a hoof in front of her face, as if to pretend she was fanning herself. The stallion noticed this and turned to his left, pointing a hoof towards a hut directly near them.

"Of course. Please, I insist that you step inside my hut so that we shall not get sunburn, from the sunlight's heat pouring down upon us."

The unicorn obliged happily and made her way inside, with him following closely behind. The floor, walls, and ceilings were made of finely flattened clay, and around the hut were plenty of expensive-looking assortments of Saddle Arabian furniture, attire, and the finest pottery anypony could see in all of Equestria. The stallion could have had a more traditional hut, but it was obvious he wasn't exactly poor.

She turned to face him, but cleared her throat before she began to speak. "Now then, may I ask that you introduce yourself?"

"I do owe you an introduction. My name is Malakhar Manat, a renowned pottery maker here in Saddle Arabia. As such, my business is pottery and Arabian bottle-making. A lot of the assortment of vases, bottles, lamps, and more are all of my custom creations."

If Twilight wasn't surprised before, she was now ecstatic about what she saw. "Wow, you made all those yourself? These are some of the best pottery I've ever seen! How much do they usually sell for?"

"Many a pony seek some of my designs. I've even been sent orders from all across Equestria. Some of my vases and bottles have been in such high demand that some of the richest in Equestria have given away their own priceless items just to get a hold of some of my creations. And that's where I got the rest of my memorabilia that you see. In fact, this rug here that our hooves are standing upon was given to me by quite a well-known gentlecolt named Fancypants."

If there was anything the lavender mare knew, it was a few things about who was probably the most well-known stallion in Canterlot. "Oh, I know Fancypants! I've seen him when I went to Canterlot for my birthday, and he was at the wedding for my brother and Princess Cadence. He's a high-class stallion to even the other high-class ponies in Canterlot. I figure after Fancypants ordered something of yours, it wasn't long until much of Canterlot also bought your products."

Malakhar chuckled once again, but wasn't going to hold himself that high. "Yes, business really did seem to pick up when he ordered some of my pottery, so that makes sense."

Twilight nodded in response. She was starting to feel more comfortable around the stallion, though she wouldn't have been prepared for the events that followed.

"It's been a really nice pleasure talking with you, Twilight Sparkle. I shall now present to you a gift that I have wanted to give you for a long time. I saved it for whenever you came to Saddle Arabia, even if you never ended up coming here. I am quite proud of this work and wouldn't have sold it for a million bits, and it's not because this thing is just that priceless. There's a special property about it that might interest you, as you are the Element of Magic."

"Oh? And that is…"

"Twilight Sparkle, how would you like to be even more stronger in magic then you currently are?"

Twilight's eyes widened, and she took a step back. She knew there was no way just anypony could increase her magical power past how they already are now. "Whoa, what?!"

"Is something the matter?"

"No, no... nothing's wrong, actually. It's just, how do you have something in your possession that can possibly make a pony stronger in magic then they already are?"

"Oh you'll see in due time, but allow me to fetch what it is I'm talking about."

The stallion turned away from Twilight and left into a backroom. When he returned, in his mouth was a purple translucent bottle, decorated with glitter with similar colors as Twilight's tricolored mane and tail. On two sides were gem-encrusted engravings of Twilight's cutie mark.

Like a normal Arabian bottle, it was round on the bottom, and on the way to the top was a removable lid, which similarly was just as translucent and purple as the rest of the bottle. Twilight was wowed by the design, but noticed that the bottle was empty.

"Wait, I love how it looks and all, but... it looks empty. How is an empty bottle supposed to make me any stronger in magic, just instantly out of the blue?"

"Don't underestimate it only because it appears like nothing is worthwhile inside it. Right now, I just want to focus on whenever or not you want it for yourself. If you accept, you may either take it home with you and give the boost to your magic back home in Ponyville, or you can open it now to get it over with."

No matter what Malakhar said, Twilight was still unsure about how a bottle could contain a power that could enhance her magic. "I don't know, Malakhar. This just seems so crazy. But if I accept, what's the cost of this bottle?"

"It's absolutely free of charge, as your deeds in the past are more than enough to reap the benefits. Do you accept my offer? If you decline, I'll simply put the bottle back into the backroom and you may go on your way."

The curious mare looked at the bottle again. It did look nice, and if it proved to be false in that it could really improve her magic, it would at least make any room look nicer. "Oh well, since you're offering it for free and all, I'll accept it. What's the harm? It's really beautiful, and if it does what you say it does, I'll both be much stronger in magic and I'll have a nice decoration back home!"

"Splendid! I am happy one of my finest works is going to somepony like you." Malakhar gave her a wide grin, happy that one of his works was going to somepony so famous. At least, it was his opinion that Twilight was famous. "Soon this bottle will be more important to you then you realize, besides a simple decoration."

Then Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Malakhar shifted his eyes a bit. "Oh nothing, nothing really... but, uh, now that you accepted it, like I said, you have the choice of either taking it home with you so you can 'power up' at home, or you can do it right now on the spot. As soon as now or as late as when you get back, you will henceforth enjoy a kind of magic power no pony has seen in millenniums!"

"Somehow I doubt that. What you're saying is that with this bottle, I'll suddenly gain powers that could even match with the powers of a Princess?" Twilight shook her head in disbelief before going on. "I'll still give this a try, but if it does work, all I imagine will happen is that I will be able to do more advanced spells more frequently with less risk of tiring."

"Oh trust me, you'll get plenty more then that. All you have to do is simply open the bottle, and you'll get what I'm talking about. No other place then Saddle Arabia can provide you this. Now decide, Twilight Sparkle. Do you open it now or take it home?"

"Assuming this works, it won't be painful… will it?" Twilight had a tinge of worry in her voice, which was reassured by Malakhar almost immediately.

"No, it should be generally relaxing. No pain will come out of it, but you will feel a sort of force on you."

"Well then, I'll just open it now I suppose."

"Good, good! Now stand over there so you have more space."

He pointed over toward the middle of the rather small hut. Twilight walked over to it, and examined the bottle for a few more seconds as she prepared herself to open it.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

As her horn glowed, Twilight levitated the bottle in front of her and used telekinesis to remove the top of the bottle. Twilight shook in apprehension as she prepared for whatever 'force' Malakhar mentioned. After about thirty seconds or so, nothing really happened. Even Malakhar suddenly felt worried that it didn't work, and scowled at the result. Twilight waited for a few more seconds, but she still didn't feel anything.

She turned around to face Malakhar again. "I should of figured this was a waste of time. I'm sorry Malakhar, but..." Before she could say more, she felt a small tug coming from behind her. Her eyes widened at what she saw.

Twilight's tail was suddenly doing strange things. It was moving in a sort of wavy motion up and down and it wasn't Twilight making it move. As seconds passed, it continued going in a wavy pattern, but it was doing more than just imitating Princess Celestia's free-flowing mane; the tail was extending. "Huh?! What's going on with my tail?!"

Twilight didn't have a clue why her tail was acting this way. She tried to move it herself, but it was like her tail had a mind of its own. She started walking for a little while until she was at the edge of the room, but she suddenly felt a bigger tug than before. "Ah! Something's pulling me!"

When she looked back at her rapidly extending and waving tail, she saw that the end of it was now connected to Malakhar's bottle, and yet more more and more of her tail was being pulled and being somehow sucked into the bottle. "What is this bottle doing, Malakhar? Is this part of the process?!" She turned back to him with a scared expression, but what also surprised her other than what the bottle was doing to her, was what Malakhar was doing. He was laughing at what he was seeing.

"It works! It actually woooooorrrrks!"

By now, about half of Twilight's extended tail was already in the bottle. She had the look of fear in her eyes. "What are you talking about?! What works?!"

Suddenly, Twilight started inexplicably floating. "Gah!" She flailed her hooves as she floated. Her hind hooves were suddenly stretching to the bottle as well. She looked in shock as her body from the flank down was being shaped and shrunk the closer it got to the opened bottle.

Everything right down to her cutie mark was nothing but a curvy smoketail and it was all ever so slowly heading inside the bottle. Twilight now knew what was happening: She was being forcibly sucked inside the bottle. She turned yet again to face the stallion, but this time with a glare.

"Malakhar, stop this! If this is what it takes to get stronger in magic. I don't want it!"

"I'm afraid it's far too late for that, Ms. Twilight. As soon as the bottle has opened, it can't be stopped and the pony that opened it will be engulfed inside."

"You won't get away with this... ah!" She yelled until she was tugged strongly again. Almost to her front hooves and neck now, she was being funneled inside the bottle. She flailed her forehooves and moved her head from side to side in desperation, bute her neck and hooves were being gradually sucked into the bottle in no time.

As the rest of her body, including her head was finished being completely bottled, she yelled a big "Noooooooooooooo!" that became lower in volume, until it went silent when the last part of her body disappeared into the bottle, being which was her horn.

With Twilight now completely bottled, the bottle fell to the floor and the bottle top magically returned to its spot on top of the bottle, and sealed the imprisoned unicorn completely inside. Before, it was clear. Now, inside was a glowing purple mist. Malakhar smiled in glee and walked up to the bottle that was no longer empty.

"Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle. No harm will come out of this, I assure you."


	4. Chapter 4

Back in the hotel, Spike woke up while stretching his limbs out with a yawn. It was still pretty early in the morning, but not too early that the dragon would be too tired to wake up on his own.

"Ah, that felt good, for a while. Felt like I finally got some space to myself."

He scratched his back as he looked around the room. Something seemed off to him. Twilight wasn't there, so he was alone in the hotel room himself. He cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Huh, I really do have space to myself. Twilight must've left. Heh, she probably went off to that library she's been going to everyday since we got here."

He hopped out of bed, and audible cracks were heard as he gave himself one final stretch. While he continued to look around, he spotted the small bucket of Saddle Arabian gemstones Twilight kept for Spike. Though she wanted Spike to eat in moderation, he was too greedy to resist the beautiful rocks' charms.

"Maybe two gems wouldn't hurt."

He proceeded to walk over to it and pick up two of the gems, one a tiny gleaming topaz and another an irresistible average-sized amethyst. He threw up the topaz in the air and caught it on his tongue. He started to suck on the amethyst as he walked out the door of the hotel room.

He made his way out to the streets of the city. They were full of the resident ponies, out to just wander about or tend to business. Some were conversing with others about whatever. But those were only a distraction.

Spike had his mind only set on the gem he was sucking on, but more importantly, finding Twilight. He had been around the city enough times to know where to go if he ever need to get somewhere specific. The first stop he would try would obviously be the place he most expected the studious mare to go to. He set out in the direction of the library.

The furthest point Spike traveled to was the market area of Saddle Arabia. He would have kept going if he hadn't just heard audible laughing, its source being a nearby hut a few feet from where he was standing. Out of his own curiosity, he proceeded to head inside. He didn't know what to expect to see in there.

When he did, he saw who the laughing was coming from. He didn't know it, but he was staring at the same pony who had tricked Twilight into opening up a bottle that inexplicably sucked her in. He decided to approach the stallion.

"Excuse me sir, but I thought I heard laughing coming from in here."

Spike's voice startled Malakhar, which in turn caused him to turn around to face the small dragon in reaction. He didn't expect a visitor only minutes after he had successfully captured a pony in a bottle.

"Why, hello there little dragon! You wouldn't happen to be... Spike, is it?"

Two things caught Spike's attention. The first was Malakhar's tone of voice, which sounded nervous. Why it did was of no importance to the baby dragon. The second was that this stallion somehow already knew his name.

"Oh wow, how did you know my name? Am I famous? Does everyone in Saddle Arabia know of Twilight Sparkle's #1 Assistant?" Spike put his hands on his hips in a proud manner.

Malakhar was puzzled by Spike's ego, but laughed a little nonetheless. "Sure, let's go with that."

This boosted Spike's ego a bit, as if it wasn't already high enough. But then that's when he remembered his lavender pony friend, and coughed a bit. "Anyway, do you have any idea where my friend Twilight Sparkle went? When I woke up earlier, she wasn't in our hotel room, so I figured she must've went back to the library, but I just wanted to be sure. Have you seen her?"

Malakhar was hoping Spike wouldn't ask about Twilight, though he had a good chance to keep the bottle containing her out of sight of the baby dragon. He didn't want to risk him finding out, as if he expected something bad to happen if Spike ever got near it.

However, before he could answer, Spike started to look around his hut. His face was mixed between fascination and wonder. Some of Malakhar's bottles and pots were impressive, while others seemed not so much in Spike's opinion.

"Nice place you got here. You have so much cool, priceless stuff. Why don't you sell some of these things to get you a better house than this old hut? I bet they would fetch a lot of bits!"

"I prefer to keep things more... natural. I'm old fashioned like that."

Spike gave him a rather odd look, thinking he was a bit mysterious for being old fashioned. Then again, Spike didn't know much about Saddle Arabian ponies other than what he read in the book, what Twilight told him, and what he experienced himself. He concluded that the ponies were old fashioned.

"Ok, but don't blame me when on a rainy day, those clay walls droop and ruin all your stuff."

Malakhar rolled his eyes at the statement. "It rarely ever rains here. Saddle Arabia is in the middle of a desert."

"Oh, right…whoa!"

Spike spotted the bottle containing the glowing purple smoke inside. Malakhar froze when he noticed. Did the dragon figure it out? Did he know Twilight was in the bottle? Thoughts raced in his mind as Spike admired the bottle from afar.

"That's a cool bottle! There's even swirling purple smoke moving inside. Is that like a lava lamp?"

Malakhar sighed in relief. Spike was clueless after all. "Yes yes, it's a lava lamp..."

"That's so cool! But wait, why is it themed on Twilight? I mean, both the mist and the color of the bottle is almost the same exact color as her coat fur. And it even has her cutie mark gem encrusted on the side!"

Malakhar sweated. Spike probably had an idea now. "It's, umm... a collectible! There's one for each of the Elements of Harmony. They're really hard to find, so I'm really glad to have possession of this one."

"They're selling merchandise for Twilight and her friends now? Why does no one ever tell me these things? I could collect all the Rarity items they're selling! I also wouldn't mind an Applejack action figure, with real applebucking action! Hi ya!"

Spike proceeded to kick the wall, and the sudden shock caused a vase sitting on a shelf to shake and fall. If it were not for Malakhar quickly running over and diving to the spot it would have fallen and catching it before any real harm could be done, it would've smashed into pieces on the floor. After placing the vase back to its spot, he sighed and glared at the little dragon.

"Watch where you're hitting things, firebreather!"

Spike backed away from the wall, realizing his mistake. "Oops, sorry. Eh heh…"

After that silly mistake, he returned his attention back to the glowing Twilight-themed bottle, and started to walk toward it. "So, can I take a closer look at-"

Before Spike could reach his claws out for it, the beige stallion galloped over and pushed him away.

"No, under no circumstances do you open that bottle!"

Spike was taken aback at Malakhar's sudden reaction. "Aww, why not?"

"Because she'll... I-I mean..."

Spike raised an eyebrow. He was beginning to raise some suspicion. "She? Who are you talking about?"

In response, Malakhar started stammering. "I-I, u-umm, e-er..."

"Like your mother, or something?"

"No... I mean yes! Yes! My mother will be very mad if that bottle is opened."

"You still live with your Mother? But you're a full grown stallion!"

Although Malakhar didn't really live with his mother he slightly blushed at the accusation. He kept his composure and acted angrier.

"That's it, little dragon. It's time for you to-"

Before Malakhar could finish his sentence, a knock was heard at the door. He groaned in frustration, then turned back to Spike.

"You stay here and touch nothing. I have to go deal with whoever's at my door."

He then headed for the door shaking his head in disbelief. When he opened, he was presented by two Saddle Arabian Guards. One of them spoke directly to him.

"Malakhar Manat?"

Now Malakhar was even more scared and nervous than before. "Y-Yes, officer?"

"We need to talk with you. Come with us."

"Wait, right now? As in, _right now_ right now?"

"Yes."

"But I can't! This dragon here-"

The Guard cut him off. "You can discuss business with the young dragon when you get back. Now come with us."

"But we weren't-" He suddenly stopped. He sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with the guards without risking further questioning. So he went along. As he left, he gave a piercing cold stare to the young dragon, who stared back as they walked away.

"What was that all about? Oh well, at least I can get a full look at this baby."

Spike returned his attention to the Twilight-themed bottle . Malakhar's words echoed through his head. The ones that told him not to touch anything in his hut, especially the purple bottle swirling with glowing smoke.

_Picking it up and touching it wouldn't hurt._

He reached his claws out, picked it up, and looked through it.

"Wow! I can see right through it, everything is so purple..."

Spike stared at it far a few seconds before looking to his left and right. He was tempted to open it; however, if Malakhar's mother truly got mad, he could simply bail out of the situation. Spike didn't live here, so he figured if the bottle released the smoke that made up the lava lamp, they could easily get new smoke. But then he thought to himself, should he open it in the house, or would it be safer to go out there with it? There was a possibility the fumes could've been toxic and could've made Spike sick, or worse.

But then again, accidents happened all the time, and he doubted the smoke could've been lethal. Besides, it looked like there was barely enough to make any suffocating amount of smoke come out, as it appeared to Spike that there was a small amount of smoke. He shrugged as he grabbed open the top, and popped it off. He set it on the ground in front of him, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened.

Perhaps the bottle was nothing special after all. Or at least, Spike thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Spike grabbed open the top of the bottle, and popped it off. He set it on the ground in front of him, and waited as if expecting something to happen. Yet, nothing happened. He expected the smoke from inside to come pouring out. It just stayed inside. He crossed his arms in disbelief.

It was only then a few seconds later, that the smoke from inside started coming out. More than he expected, but it wasn't going all around the room, or dissipating. It seemed to make some sort of formation, almost like a body of some sort.

Spike stepped back a few steps as the smoke started to come together and shape itself. At the top, what looked like the head of a pony started to form. Under it was supposedly its neck and body. Arms protruded from what would appear to be the shoulders. The body floated just above the bottle, and solidified itself.

Spike's eyes widened when he saw the figure floating before him. It was Twilight Sparkle, who appeared to be sleeping for a few seconds before groaning. She held a hoof to her head as her eyes slowly opened, as if in a daze. Her eyes felt heavy and blurry, until a voice snapped her out of her daze.

"Twilight...?"

Twilight gasped, and shook her head to clear her vision and awareness. She stared down at the young dragon.

"Spike? Oh, my head feels weird... where are we?"

"We're in some stallion's hut, but I have some questions to ask..."

"Oh right, Malakhar..."

Twilight's face shifted right back to the way it was while she was getting sucked into the bottle minutes ago. From what Spike could tell, she was furious.

"Malakhar? Is that the name of that stallion that was just here?"

"That depends, was he a beige-colored stallion, had a beard, a pottery maker?"

"Uh... yeah, that would be him."

"Where did he go? He needs to pay for what he did to me! He tricked me into getting sucked into this bottle..."

Spike didn't see it at first, but it was noticeable when Twilight tried to walk away from him toward the door. Or rather, she tried to float there, as she didn't walk on her hooves. Spike could now see the hind part of her body was connected to the bottle like a smokey tail.

"Uh, Twilight? You said you were sucked into the bottle, but you didn't say anything about being connected to it."

"Spike what are you- AAAAAHHHHH!"

When Twilight looked back at the bottle, she could see her body being connected to it. It felt freaky to her. Not just felt freaky; it _looked_ freaky as well.

"Yeah, that. Also, why are you wearing that? You don't really strike me as the pony to be wearing jewelry."

"Jewelry? What Jewelry?"

"Take a look..."

Spike spotted a pony-sized mirror, and walked over to it. He grabbed it with his claws and showed it to the floating unicorn, who gasped upon looking at her own reflection.

Twilight had some strange attire on her front hooves and forehead. Golden bracelets were tightly fitted on her forehooves. Across her forehead directly under her horn was a similarly tight fitted gold headband. Her bangs covered most of it but in the middle the headband also had a large oval with a purple gem encrusted on it. On the tip of her horn was a golden horntip, which was also tightly fitted as if it was horn armor.

Twilight just looked between her hooves and her reflection. If anything, she couldn't believe not just that a bottle of all objects sucked her inside, but also that jewelry appeared on her when she wasn't even wearing it in the first place, not to mention her hind legs were nonexistent as the rear part of her body was connected to the aforementioned bottle.

"Uh, Twilight? You think explain why you have that jewelry on, why you're connected to a bottle, and why-"

"I have no idea Spike. I surely didn't have this when I was, well…"

"Was what?"

Twilight sighed. She figured an explanation for her being in this predicament was best.

"Alright, here's what happened. In the morning after I woke up, you were still asleep though, I left the hotel pretty early to spend a bit of time in the library."

Spike rolled his eyes. Of course she went there.

"I had a great conversation with Kubuya for a few hours. We talked about books, life in Saddle Arabia, the culture, philosophy..."

"Twilight..." Spike groaned, a bit of annoyance in his voice. "Cut to when you came in here."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Well, a stallion of the name Malakhar Manat greeted me and invited me inside his hut. For most of the time, he just seemed like a nice guy. He even knew my name, what I've done, and more. You know, the Elements of Harmony and all that. He said that he could offer me stronger skill in magic, and the key to it was to open this bottle."

Twilight pointed a hoof to the bottle she was currently connected to.

"But all it did was inexplicably suck me inside."

Spike was confused beyond comprehension. "How can that even happen? The bottle looks like it can barely fit Angel, let alone something as big as a pony like you."

"My theory is that it was enchanted with magic to gradually morph half of my body to smoke and then funneling the rest of me inside. I don't remember anything that happened in between the time I was completely sucked in and when you released me. Apparently, whenever I'm inside that thing, I'm just about unconscious."

"That's... weird. This Malakhar guy looked just like any ordinary Earth pony stallion. But of the Saddle Arabian variety, of course. How could he enchant the bottle?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that he will get a stern talking-to when I see him again!" Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Oh, he actually just left before you came out the bottle. He was taken for questioning by some guards. Not sure what for, though.."

"He deserves to be in trouble for what he's done to me. I have to thank you for at least opening the bottle, Spike. I must ask though, did he try to not let you open the bottle for whatever reason?"

"Yeah, he said that the bottle was just a lava lamp, and if I opened it, is mother would be mad or something. But I was really curious about it, so I opened it hoping she wouldn't mind."

"I see... he tried to lie to you so he could trap me inside and probably keep me to himself. For once, not listening paid off for you, Spike."

"Oh, thank you- hey, wait a minute…"

Twilight giggled, seeing he caught on to her meaning. But just as fast as her smile appeared, it disappeared just as quickly. "I still have no idea what all this means, though. Am I just a prisoner to this bottle? Like a ball and chain, but instead, a magic tail that makes up the entire back half of my body? Can I even move away from this thing?"

To make sure, Twilight tried tugging herself a little father away from the bottle. Her tail stretched far from the bottle. She soon found that she could move freely about the entire room. At least she took comfort in the fact she could still move around, but that didn't make matters better.

"There has to be some kind of explanation for this, and I know Malakhar will have some explaining to do."

"Alright, I'll go see what's keeping him."

Spike turned away from Twilight and proceeded towards the door. It wasn't until a few steps later until Malakhar stepped back inside, staring down at the young dragon.

"Well young dragon, I'm back. I hope, for your sake, that you didn't touch anything in here."

Malakhar didn't notice it, but Spike was starting to sweat nervously. The tension grew while he tried to think of an excuse. "Who, me? Nah, of course I wouldn't! Who do you think I am, some kind of immature kid or a thief or something?"

At this, Malakhar raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know you personally. I'm just being cautious. All of these bottles, lamps and other objects are very priceless and valuable to me. Every single one of these things."

"Ok... sorry, Malakhar." Spike really didn't feel bad for anything, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt anyway. "So uh, what did the guards ask you about?"

"They just simply wanted to know if I saw any trouble down the street. Not really much to say since I've been in here all this time. Of course, I did see your friend Twilight Sparkle, and I-"

Malakhar suddenly stopped speaking. He had a look of what appeared to be a mix of fear and shock. Spike scratched his head and paid close attention to his face, noticing the stallion was looking past him.

He looked back to see Twilight floating behind him, glaring at Malakhar with an intense expression. Spike had never seen Twilight this angry before, and it was somehow surprising to see. She was normally somepony who would never blow a fuse, but seeing her now made him change his opinion.

After a few seconds of passing, Twilight floated past Spike at a rapid speed, bringing her face close to Malakhar's. He reacted by backing away and bowing down in front of her.

"T-Twilight Sparkle! You've been brought out the bottle, b-but how...?"

"Spike released me, but that isn't the issue. Right now, I demand an explanation for what you did to me!"

"I was going to tell you when I was ready to release you myself-"

He didn't get a chance to explain, as Twilight's glare intensified to the point of stopping him from speaking.

""What did you do to me?! Why did you do it and why do it in such a cryptic fashion just to trick me?! You better have a way to change me back right now before... before I..."

Twilight wasn't sure what to say, she looked at him evenly, but still kept that same face. Malakhar saw this, and used the chance to regain his composure

"Before you what? There's nothing to tell you about what you can do in your current form. But if you really want honesty... yes, I did this to you on purpose."

"So you _did_ trick me! it wasn't a magic empowering thing at all. I know there was a reason for you to trick me into being stuck in the bottle, but what?"

Twilight gave him a cold, hard stare that could instill horror in any filly that dared to look at her, and though Malakhar was no filly, he was scared out of his wits. All he could do was sigh.

"I can't tell you."

Twilight's left eye twitched when she heard his answer. "Why not?!"

"I just, can't tell you. At least, not now. However, I will at least tell you what I told you before you opened the bottle. Do you remember what it was?"

Twilight's face still showed that same angry expression, but after a few seconds, it softened into a more calm appearance. She was still mad at him, but it barely showed now. She tried to think back at what he told her before she opened the bottle and started getting sucked in.

"One thing I remember you saying was that it would increase my magical output. But from all I can see, all it did was stick me to this bottle and replaced my hindlegs with a ghostly tail."

"Oh no, it's not just that. That would just be horrible." Twilight narrowed her eyes again. As if it wasn't already horrible. "I'll tell you what exactly putting you in the bottle has accomplished for you in regards to your magic."

Twilight was now intrigued. Though she wanted to hear his explanation, as it might have done something fascinating to her magic, her eyes were still narrowed because of the predicament she was now in.

"Good. It seems I have caught your attention. Now then, you may not be able to do anything about being free from the bottle right now... but I didn't lie that it would increase the limits of your magic. There are just special conditions."

"So you're saying my magic has improved. But at the same time, It's still limited in some way." Even from understanding this, Twilight still shook her head. She was not approving of this. "If I have to look like a ghost anchored by a glass bottle for the rest of my life just because I want to be stronger in magic, then I don't want any part of this deal!"

Now it was Malakhar's turn to shake his head. "It is too late. You have already become a part of the bottle, and once that happens, you can't be freed from it... unless you go to the library not too far from here and require a book on a certain subject. It should explain what you have become now. Not a ghost, or any spirit of any sort. You're now something even more special; something Saddle Arabians have not seen in thousands of years."

He made a wide grin, while Twilight and Spike stared in confusion.

"Do you want to know what you are now?"

"Yes... yes, I do."

At this point, Malakhar was prepared for the worst when he would reveal Twilight's new form to her. However, he knew the revelation wouldn't be so bad, at least to her. Though the situation was bad for Twilight, or so she thought, Malakhar still held that grin on his face. For the first time in his life, he was standing in front of a legend.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle, you are now a Genie. A bound magical being to the bottle that currently anchors your smoky tail."

Twilight's pupils shrunk in surprise. She probably should've seen it coming when she noticed she was tied to a bottle and she was suddenly wearing the hoofbands and headband. But that was just preposterous! Twilight could remember genies being nothing but old fillies tales and fantasy creatures in old fiction books.

From what she remembered reading about them, they came from lamps- or in her case, a bottle- and they would have to grant three wishes to whoever opened what would be their container. After the three wishes, the genie would be forced back into the container, and they would magically appear in another random location, and would be stuck there until the container was opened again, and the cycle repeated.

Malakhar could see the look of surprise on Twilight's face. He chuckled a bit at her speechlessness before he started to explain.

"Here, I'll explain. Millenniums ago they just disappeared. How that came to be, nopony knows. However, I found one of the few remaining instructions for making genie bottles, and it required somepony opening it. Of course, in this case, said pony had to be tricked."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at that, but Malakhar ignored it and continued.

"But I didn't want just anypony. No, I wanted someone who already had a reputation for being great at magic. Of course, your previous experience with magic doesn't affect how much of it you have now, nor is the faact you are a unicorn. In fact, Earth Pony and Pegasus genies have the same amount of power a Unicorn would have, except that Pegasi would use their wings to grant wishes while Earth Ponies would use their hooves.

"Either way, a genie has an immense magical ability that far exceeds even Alicorns. Imagine yourself being smarter than Princess Celestia. However, their only downside is that they are bound to magically-enchanted containers. In your case, that would be the bottle you are currently connected to. Not only that, but their immense power didn't come free of charge. It had to be wished by their master. As you know, a genie's master is the one that initially opens the bottle. That would be your little dragon friend there."

Both Malakhar and Twilight stared at Spike, who was quite surprised himself. "M-Me? I'm Twilight's... master? I don't wanna think myself as that! Can't I take it back?"

Twilight figured she had enough, and she glanced back at the stallion with a stern look.

"Malakhar, you do realize what you put me through, right? From what I know, once the master of a genie makes three wishes, they have to go back in their bottle and be sent to some random location. I don't want that happening to me!"

"Relax, young Twilight Sparkle. You probably just got that from those silly filly stories authors write just to create limitations for the story. Real genies don't have that happen to them. As you can well imagine, I do know a lot about genies. However, even my own knowledge on the subject is limited. You will either have to find out for yourself, or find out about it in a different way. That is, the old-fashioned way: by doing research."

In a way that seemed expected, yet unexpected, Twilight smiled a wide grin. No matter what the subject was, she loved doing research. Her expression turned back to the way it was before she heard that word.

"While all of this information seems interesting and fascinating, tricking me into turning into a genie is still uncalled for. Sure, I gain a lot of power, but what good is power if I can't even freely move away from this dumb bottle and can't use any magic under these so-called "conditions"? And from what you're saying, you basically took my freedom away without my consent. That's a crime punishable by banishment, if you ask me. If you know a way to get me out of this, I won't press charges but don't suddenly think I'll ever forgive you for what you've done to me."

Twilight crossed her hooves and narrowed her eyes. If Malakhar thought for one second he was even slightly getting to Twilight, her frown proved him to be sadly mistaken. But Malakhar still wasn't going to give up on calming her down.

"I think you'll enjoy it more than you realize. Yes, you're bound to the bottle, but once you find out how useful your newfound power is, you'll be able to do things that were unimaginable in your previous state."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm still suspicious because you're telling me all this but not telling me how to use magic as a genie. Afraid I'll seek retribution on you big time with the power you practically gave to me?"

Malakhar looked away for a moment. He didn't exactly want to admit it, but it was the truth, and he frowned at the revelation.

"I can't deny that if you knew how to use it from the very start, and you combined that with your current mood, you probably wouldn't resist the urge for, umm... taking vengeance on me with an iron hoof... or horn.

A bad thought occurred in the stallion's mind. Angering a genie wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do in Saddle Arabia, and Malakhar knew that far too well. Despite that, he kept up his attempt to not show fear.

However, I insist you give this a try anyway. You can only stretch yourself instead of freely moving around, so as much as this might distress you, it would be best if you go back inside the bottle and let your dragon carry you. When he gets to the library, he'll find information quite easily given how popular Genie lore is in Saddle Arabia. If I may ask however, what did you come here for in the first place?"

"Oh, I actually came mostly to bring some books to my library in Ponyville. I'm in charge of it there. I thought that bringing some Saddle Arabian literature would add some interesting stuff."

"I see. You make all of Saddle Arabia proud for choosing our fine literature to take back and share."

"You're very welcome. I did hear tha-"

Twilight stopped as soon as she realized she was being distracted.

"Let's get back into the situation at hoof here."

"Aww, I thought we could have at least another nice conversation to... calm you down a bit." Malakhar grinned mischievously.

"Well, I'm much more calm now, but I'm no less angry at you. This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I came here."

"I understand. In any case, I wouldn't doubt the library having something on Genies, as I said before that it's popular folklore around Saddle Arabia. Not only that, but you can get a good selection of books for the library when you get back."

"Well, at the very least by talking with me you've proven not to be as bad-minded as I first thought. When Spike released me, I got to thinking you had some nefarious plan for me. Fooling me into becoming a Genie isn't exactly a good first impression."

Malakhar only chuckled in response. "I realize that, and I do apologize, though I doubt you would have agreed if I had simply said, 'Hey Twilight, how would you like to become a genie?'"

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. "I probably would've thought that was ridiculous or even a joke."

She then shook her head. "But still, the fact that you didn't tell me what you were doing, you just made it sound like something would just come out of the bottle, use force against me, and suddenly my magic becomes stronger. The way you really did it was just... unjust."

"Again, I'm sorry. It was the only way I could think for you to give it a try though."

Twilight narrowed her eyes again. Malakhar kept his composure.

"Here's what you'll want to do. Have the dragon-"

Spike crossed his arms. "Spike. My name is Spike."

"Er, Spike... carry your bottle to the library. Once there, Spike, you inquire to the librarian there about books on genies. She should know where the specific location of every type of book is. She's very organized. Once you get what you need, it would be imperative that you come back here."

Spike nodded his head as he understood Malakhar's instructions, but Twilight wanted to be sure.

"Alright then, so I have to go right back into the bottle and have Spike carry me, right? Since I can't do much in this..."

She attempted to touch her smoke tail with her hooves. As expected, they go right through.

"...form."

"That would be correct. I should ask, though. Do you go under some sort of pain when you're in there and that's why you sound so concerned?"

"No pain. Actually, it's more like I'm in sort of a comatose state where I don't feel anything nor can I even think until I was released by Spike. It's like I instantly fall in a deep, relaxing sleep. It kind of feels like I'm sleeping on a cloud, except it's much more soothing. Granted, I'm not a Pegasus, but you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. I think in time you can get used to it. Now I have to ask, do you really want the awkwardness of Spike dragging you everywhere while you're fully exposed?"

Twilight imagined everypony walking in town staring at her being dragged by the bottle with her smoke tail floating in midair. It looked like quite an unusual sight, and it was _not_ the attention that Twilight wanted at all.

"I suppose you're right. Spike, I'm going back into the bottle. Like Malakhar said, I need you to both carry me while I'm inside and get a book about genies. I left my bag of bits in my saddlebag, which is by the side of the door. Grab it and use the necessary amount of bits to buy the book. Then we go back to Malakhar's hut."

Twilight looked back at Malakhar briefly before leaning close to Spike's ear to whisper to him.

"But before you come back here, take my bottle and the book just outside of the town, and release me so we can read it together. You know, to hopefully get more of an understanding about this genie thing."

She then raised her head back up, and continued to look down at the small dragon.

"You got that Spike? I'm counting on you."

Spike stood straight up and saluted her. "You got it, Twi! I won't let you down!"

Malakhar smiled, and looked at the duo. "I'll be here waiting for you two. I hope in time you'll forgive me fully, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight just looked away. "We'll see what happens. Now let's see if I'm even able to go back in easily. If this works, then goodbye for now."

Twilight crossed her arms and closed her eyes. As she concentrated, the front half of her body became smoke and fused with her smoke tail. After a few seconds, she fully suctioned into the bottle. Like the first time, the top instantly sealed the bottle.

"Well, little firebreather, she's in your hands now. Don't keep your eye off her. I'm not the only one who knows about genies around here. As soon as the thieving type spots that you're holding a bottle with swirling smoke, they'll know that you have a genie in your possession and when your back is turned, they'll take her without a moment's notice."

This served to make Spike gulp out of nervousness. The life of his best friend, his caretaker, somepony who was practically his older sister, was now under his care. Twilight had always cared for the baby dragon, and now it was time for him to do the same for her.

"Got it!"

Spike nodded his head, and grabbed the bottle containing Twilight in one of his claws. He ran over to Twilight's saddlebags and set the bottle down to feel around for the bag of bits. As soon as he found it, he picked the bottle back up and gave Malakhar one final look. He saw that Malakhar was suddenly carrying what appeared to be a small bag on his right hoof.

"Take this. You'll want to put that bottle in this bag. It'll make it easier to carry that bottle, and more importantly, it'll make the bottle more easily hidden."

Spike nodded, and walked over to him, picking up the bag and stuffing the bottle inside of it.

"I'll be back as soon as I can! Watch Twilight's saddlebags while we're gone!"

With that, Spike strapped the bag around his body, resting it on his bag. He rushed out of Malakhar's hut and headed out into the market. He made sure his grip around the bag of bits was tight. He wasn't going to let his best friend get stolen by potential thieves.

As he moved about the city, he reflected on how weird this was. Normally he didn't have to worry about responsibility because Twilight was usually the caretaker and responsibility holder, with many traits that defined how much she cared for Spike. Now the role has been reversed. Suddenly, he was responsible for her. He took this as his chance to prove to Twilight that he was capable of responsibility.

Not that she'd have any way of knowing, for she couldn't see anything outside the bottle while she was in it, and even if she could, it was in the bag Spike had strapped around himself. Nevertheless, he had a duty to keep, and keep it he would.


	6. Chapter 6

Spike had finally made it to the center of the city, and saw the library on the right. However, to the left he also saw that same stand that sold the gemstones he loved so much. He He contemplated buying some gems for himself to snack on. He had to admit, those gems were irresistible. But he had a duty to keep true to. Twilight was counting on him to get that book, and he wasn't going to let an obsession get the better of him. he had the bits to pay for them, but if Twilight found out he was spending her bits, she would really let him have it.

Spike shook his head. His stomach grumbled, but he remembered he still had that amethyst from earlier tucked away just in case he got hungry, but he figured he would get to that when he and Twilight went to read the book.

He walked into the library. The mare in charge, Kubuya, waved hello to the little dragon as he came in.

"Hello there, little dragon. What brings you here again? Are you here to fetch a few books for your friend, the lavender unicorn?" Kubuya spoke cheerfully, giving off a friendly atmosphere.

"Yeah. I'm just going to find a book about something."

Spike turned away from Kubuya and headed to the "G" section, hoping to find something on genies. He found stuff on Saddle Arabian games and gems that interested him. In fact, if he weren't here to find a book on genies, he definitely would've convinced Twilight to get that book. He cleared his head of the thoughts, knowing he shouldn't get distracted.

After that, no book of genies. Spike was now incredibly confused. He looked everywhere on that shelf for something. Where were the genie books? It should start with a G, right? Spike scratched the top of his head in confusion before heading back to Kubuya.

"Uh, excuse me Kubuya, but I'm looking for genie-related books. I looked in the 'G' section, but they weren't there."

"Oh, genies you say? They are located in the 'J' section, for Jinn."

Spike blinked in confusion. "...What? What is 'jinn'?"

Kubuya made a small chuckle at the dragon's confusion. "There is more than one plural word for genies. Most ponies would call them genies, but here in Saddle Arabia, where they originate, the plural word for them is jinn, with the singular word being jinni. The manager prefers jinn over genies because that is what they are known to be in the ancient time in Saddle Arabia. The oddest part is that genies were never in the 'G' section in the first place. They used to be in the 'D' section for djinn."

"Uh, you already said that."

"No, I meant djinn, with a silent 'd' in the beginning of the word. There are two ways to spell it."

Spike groaned in confusion while rubbing his head. This was all too informative for him. "Why can't you ponies make up your minds about these things?"

Kubuya giggled. "I apologize if it is somewhat confusing. "We keep our standards here in this grand city. I will be happy to help you locate the book, as long as you have the necessary bits to pay for them. Are they in your bag-"

She suddenly stopped speaking when her eyes fixated on the tip of the bottle sticking out of the bag that contained Twilight. Kubuya moved around the counter and took a closer look at Spike, but most notably the purple object sticking out from behind him. Kubuya looked left and right, making sure the coast was clear before leaning her head towards him and whispered in his ear.

"Is it true? Are you in possession of a real genie?!"

Spike suddenly felt extremely nervous, especially from what he heard from Malakhar before he left the hut. Spike didn't want anypony stealing Twilight away in fear of what would happen to her. He couldn't really deny it; Malakhar did say he was far from being the only one who knew about genies. But he wasn't going to take any chances.

"W-What do you mean? I don't have a real genie bottle on me! What could make you think such a thing?"

"Oh, nothing... except your nervousness being a clear indicator. Not only that, but you have a bottle in your bag, and you just happened to ask for a book about genies. You are not very good at hiding your intentions, young dragon."

He had to admit, she was a very smart mare. Any attempts to convince her otherwise was going to be all for naught. He sighed in defeat as he backed away cautiously. "You're not going to steal it, are you?"

"Oh, no no no no! I would never commit such an act! It's just amazing because it's been such a long time since there were actual real genies around Saddle Arabia. You're real lucky to have found one."

"Well, it wasn't exactly found as she was recently made one."

Kubuya raised an eyebrow. "Made? Whatever do you mean?"

"You see, the genie in here is my best friend. You know, Twilight?"

"Oh! Well... isn't that peculiar? I bet you've never had a friend like that." She giggled.

"No! I mean she wasn't a genie up until just recently! I've known her all my life and when she went out this morning while I was sleeping, some stallion turned her into one."

"I saw her this morning, but she wasn't a genie at the time. It must've happened after she left my library. This doesn't sound good. How could this stallion do such a thing?"

"Well, the guy isn't actually _that _bad, even if he did try to hide the fact that he did so at first. When I released her, he told us about the situation and even apologized. He told us to come here and get a book that will help Twilight understand all of this. About being a genie."

"I see. Well, I won't delay you any further. Go check the 'J' section and you'll find what you and your friend are looking for. Good luck."

"I'll also actually be coming back here a little later anyway. But first I must find that genie book. Thanks for the directions, Kubuya."

"You're welcome."

Spike walked over to the "J" section of the library. He searched high and low of the shelves, paying close attention to each title. It was after about a minute that he found all the genie, or rather jinn, related books. He saw many different kinds, such as folktales that contain genies, some about genie bottle designs, and stories about the real genies that existed millenniums ago.

Eventually, Spike set his eyes on a book that looked just perfect. _Container of the Genie – All You Ever Needed To Know About Jinn And Their Bottles_.

"Looks like a perfect book to me!"

Spike grabbed the book off the shelf and ran back to where Kubuya watched him from.

"Intuition tells me you found what you have been searching for. Is it correct?"

"Yep, and here it is!" Spike held out the book in front of it for the librarian to see. Kubuya smiled upon setting her eyes upon the cover.

"Ah yes, this old book. It shall make a fine guide for your new genie friend on how the container of a genie works. Bring it to the front so that we may make the transaction."

Kubuya walked back behind the counter. Spike carried the book with him as he stood in front of it.

"For that book, it shall be twenty bits."

Spike put down the book and reached back for the bag of bits Twilight gave him to use to pay for the book. As he picked up the coinage, he counted to make sure he gave the correct amount, then set them on the counter for Kubuya to collect. She took the bits and flashed a sincere smile.

"I do hope that book helps out your friend Twilight Sparkle with her dilemma."

"I do too. Thanks again for the help, and I'll be back with her a little later, ok? See you later!"

Spike gathered up everything he needed. The book, the bag of bits, and the bag with Twilight's bottle. With a final wave, Spike left the library and ran back towards the hotel.

Once he made it back, he shut the door behind him and made sure to lock it, just in case. Once he was ready, he took off the bag and set the small bag of bits on the floor. He then took the bottle out of the bag and placed it on the floor before him.

"Alright... how do I open this thing again?" He looked around the bottle, but all he saw was the design and the cap.

"Oh, of course." He placed his claw on the top, and twisted the cap off. In a few seconds the purple smoke floated out and formed into Twilight again. Spike really wasn't used to seeing Twilight like this, but there were more important things to think about at the moment.

"Phew, I'm finally out of there, though it wasn't so bad. Quite nice, actually. Anyway, did you get the book Spike?"

"Yep! 'Container of the Genie – All You Ever Needed To Know About Jinn And Their Bottles' right here! It looked like the perfect book, so I got it, paid for it, and brought us back here to read it."

This fascinated Twilight, but one thing stuck out to her. There was a word she didn't recognize. "Jinn?"

"Yeah, I was confused too. Kubuya told me it's another way of saying plural for genies around here. Weird, huh? But anyway, let's take a look at this book."

"Right. I'm very proud of you for doing exactly what I told you. I'll reward you later after we get this all sorted out."

Spike had a wide grin on his face, though it was hard to tell whether it was from Twilight praising him, or anticipation from the reward. "Aww, it was nothing Twi. I'd never leave you hanging."

Twilight smirked. She knew Spike all too well. "Oh don't lie to me, you wanted me to inflate that ego of yours and call you my number one assistant again."

"Well, I _am _your number one assistant, aren't I?" Spike put his hands on his hips proudly. Twilight giggled in response and floated closer to him.

"Well I'm going to do more then that, my number one assistant." She lowered her body down to his height and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek, which caused a noticeable redness to form on his cheeks.

"Aw stop it Twilight! You're making me blush redder than Applejack's brother!"

Twilight floated back and gave a sincere smile. Spike noticed her happiness almost immediately.

"You know, for not exactly being happy with being a Genie. You seem plenty happy now."

Just like that, her smile vanished, though she still felt content. "Well, I can't just make myself depressed about it. I'm a genie for now and might as well try it out like Malakhar said. I'll make the most of it until we possibly find a way where I can return to normal."

"Good thinking. Well, let's start reading. I'll just set the book down here and you just float next to me."

"Ok, but we don't have too much time to read the entire book. We own it now since you bought it, so we can always see the whole thing anytime we want. For now, just get to the more important stuff first. What are the conditions in which a Genie can use magic?"

Spike picked up the book and set it down in front of both of them before flipping through the pages for an answer to the aforementioned question. It only took about a minute before he found something.

"Ok, here's something, in Properties of a Genie's Magic. It says here that a Genie's power is totally dependent on their master. Whomever is the master can decide what the Genie is able to do and can also get wishes from the Genie."

Twilight frowned in disgust. "Ugh, I don't like the word master. It just makes it sound like I'm basically a slave."

"Well, it would be cool to have somepony that does your bidding... but I would never do that to you. You're my best friend, almost like a big sister to me."

"Aww, thanks Spike! But I'm curious. What defines a master? Is there anything about that? Malakhar isn't my master simply because he made me a Genie is he?"

"Let's hope not. Let me see here. Masters... masters... masters..." Spike kept skimming through the text, only finding what he needed on the next page.

"Aha! A genie's master is anyone who released them from the bottle the first time. I guess that makes me your master since I opened the bottle."

Twilight sighed in relief. "Oh good. As much as I'm no longer as mad at that stallion as I was, I wouldn't never want somepony like him to be my 'Master'."

It was now pretty obvious by her facial expression that Twilight was still noticeably disgusted at this sort of word use.

"Well, that's still a good thing. I'm just wondering how this will affect us. I mean, does this mean I, you know... own you?"

"I'd prefer if you didn't think of it that way, despite what that book says."

"Fair enough. Well, we might as well try it out. What would you like first? I don't want to be all selfish or something and just have you grant a lot of wishes for me. I want to first test this and see if it works. Besides, you'd need some comfort in this since you didn't expect this in the first place. I mean, I'd like you to get some more convenient stuff done for yourself, because I don't think I could resist giving you some awesome genie eye-laser powers or something."

Spike laughed a bit while Twilight raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes at him before thinking about what she wanted.

"Right now, all I want are my hind legs back. I'll admit that it's a bit cool that I can float around like this, but I'd like to have freedom from the bottle, even if it's limited."

"Alright, but how do I make the command? If it just appeared when I said it, you'd have those eye lasers already."

"Well, when all else fails, look it up."

Spike nodded, and searched more for another answer. Conveniently, it was the next section in the chapter, Genie Wishes.

"Reading through here, it says all I have to is add the words 'I wish' to the sentence of the command."

"Well that's easy. Go ahead and try it Spike."

"Alright then." Spike cleared his throat. "I wish you had the ability to form your hindlegs whenever you wanted."

After Spike spoke his wish, Twilight waited, but nothing happened.

"It didn't work. How could it not work?"

"Try using your magic after I grant the wish, then. Let's try it again. I wish you had the ability to form your hindlegs again."

After giving the wish, Twilight's horn glowed. Some of the smoke that formed her tail started to shift back behind her. It started to turn dark until it was the color of her hair. The streaks then appeared as the shape formed her real pony tail. The smoke separated from the body and separated into two more shapes. She was being brought down to the floor as her front hooves touched it. A smoky silhouette of her flank formed itself while her hindlegs finally came to shape and they settled themselves on the floor.

Spike reveled in the fact that Twilight now had her hindlegs again, but something seemed off about them.

"I can't believe how much I missed my legs and my tail." She did a little kick with each of her legs and shook her tail, making sure she had control of them again. She didn't when the bottle sucked her in. "Thank you for wishing for that, Spike."

"You're welcome Twi. Just, what's that around your hindlegs?"

"Huh?"

Twilight looked back at her reformed hindlegs. Around both legs were two pairs of Saddle Arabian leggings that were transparent and of a light violet color. At the top and bottom of both were gold rings similar to the bracelets on Twilight's forehooves and the headband on her forehead.

"I suppose this is old Saddle Arabian attire that genies had when they grew their legs back. Speaking of which, what does the book say about this attire?"

This time, Twilight flipped pages looking for information on the strange jewelry and outfit that she had on.

"Here's another section: Genie Attire. There's actually a different one depending on the gender of the Genie. On males, they still have the bracelets but instead of those hindleg things, they wear a vest. They also have a second pair of bracelets on their hindlegs. Also, they have a turban with a gem encrusted on the forehead much like the headband on females. And obviously we already know what's on females because of what's on me. A headband and leggings. I'm not much of a clothing mare, especially with these on."

She shook her hindlegs to indicate the leggings. "But what do they all mean?"

Spike read on. "They're just symbolic attire that's magically attached to the genie. They're suppose to give genies a sort of mystic look. The gold tip of your horn is part of the attire that's specific to unicorn genies. On pony genies that were pegasi, they wore golden wingtips. on their wings. The magic would come from them when the wings were flared out. For Earth ponies, their magic came from their hoofbands, which they would either hold out or stomp to activate their magic. Also, no matter what you do, you can't take them off. They're that tightly fit around you, but it doesn't hurt the genie in any way."

"So technically, these aren't as much clothes as they are practically part of my body as a genie." Twilight tested the theory by pushing on one of the bracelets on her front hooves. They didn't budge even a millimeter.

"As nice and decorative as this looks, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this. I'm sure Rarity would adore this, maybe."

"Think about it, Twilight. You'll look pretty attractive, like Rarity. She'd love looking like that. Makes you look a bit sexy, actually..."

"Well, I'm not Rarity!"

Spike reeled back in response to Twilight's yelling. It was pretty obvious she did not want to think of herself as being too attractive to the extent of actually looking sexy.

"Sorry, Twilight. I won't mention it again, I promise."

Twilight sighed. "Oh well. I suppose I'll have to live with it. I just hope I don't gain unwanted attention from wearing this."

Spike decided it would be best to change the subject. "Hey Twilight, I wonder if you can change your back half to the smoke tail again and reconnect it to the bottle at will. Do you think you could try that? I think it said earlier that when a genie has a skill made from a wish, it would then have the ability to turn on and off whenever the genie wants. You should now have full control with how you want to move about. It also makes sense because of the wish I made."

"Why not? I'll give it a try, but as soon as it's shown to work, I'm forming my hindlegs again. Rarely do I ever want to be transported through that bottle again."

Twilight would've made her horn glow, but something unexpected happened instead. While she wanted to form her tail again, it seemed to start working before her horn even radiated its magic. She started to float upwards into the air. Her tail disconnected from her rump and formed into smoke as it waved itself into the bottle. Her hindlegs started to merge together while her flank became shifty and turned into the smoke. It extended back toward the bottle and the end of the tail entered the top of the bottle until Twilight became connected to it fully.

"There, looks like it worked."

"Ok. I just wanted to see for sure." After all was said and done, Twilight used her new power to disconnect herself from the bottle and form her hindlegs again. She felt much better after having finally been freed from her container.

"Is there anything else I should know that's in the book. Spike?"

"Well how about this tidbit?" Spike traced his finger across the page as he read the words written inside. "Genies are immortal and eternally young. Under no circumstances are they able to die nor do they age unless a master wishes for them to be able to change their physical appearance so as to look a different age. They can undergo physical harm, but in no way can a genie pass away."

"Oh my, that's a huge bonus. Rarity would ever be so jealous of me never having to worry about aging. You know how she is about her looks."

"I think everypony would be kind of jealous because there's no possible way for you to die. You could serve Celestia as her student for all of eternity!"

Twilight wasn't sure what to think about this. True that immortality meant she could live forever, and that she could spend the rest of her life with the Princess. However, that also meant she would outlive her closest friends, and everypony in Ponyville. It was different for Spike, though.

Dragons lived quite a long time, though he didn't like to talk or even think about it much because it saddened him every time he did knowing he would outlive everypony much like Princess Celestia. But he knew someday that Twilight would grow old, and she'd pass away and so will all the rest of her friends when he would far outlive them. They'd eventually just be memories and gravestones.

But with Twilight as a genie, he'd at least have her always by his side, and better yet, she wouldn't age. So things wouldn't change so often for the exception of Spike getting bigger and bigger. He'd miss the other five of course, and he'd imagined Twilight would too but having the one mare who's been there, and even hatched him for the entirety of his dragon life would be a dream come true for the little dragon.

But as much as he was now starting to personally want Twilight to want to stay as a genie forever, he didn't want to force her into it. He'd like to spend his entire life with Twilight, but not a depressed one that didn't want to be a genie forever in the first place and a Twilight that mourned her friends every day after their time has passed while she can't die nor can she age as a genie would just be sad to see. He unknowingly stared blankly at empty space while he was thinking this.

"Is something wrong Spike?" Twilight asked him. He snapped awake and shook his head.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about some things. Let me read on."

Spike proceeded to read more to get to another subject. "Here's some more info, this time it's The Genie's Container. However, it's never a good idea to lose the genie's bottle in a place where a mortal would have trouble getting it. If a genie doesn't go inside his or her container for an entire week, he or she will be forcibly teleported to where the lamp is and sucked inside. Also, it doesn't harm the genie if the container is broken; however, genies can't get the rest that they enjoy without their usual containers, and this could lead to weariness and a tired state, leading to wishes being not granted to their full potential or in extreme cases, the wish being granted to absolute extremities. So it was best that the bottle be safe anyway."

"That wouldn't be a good thing at all... wait, Spike. Can you flip to anywhere that might give info about wishes? I remember having some genie stories that were even back in the library in Ponyville where the genie granted three wishes and then went back into the bottle and disappeared. I'm afraid that the two wishes you made means you only have one more wish before I'm forced back into the bottle. I know Malakhar said this wasn't true, but I really want to be sure."

This worried Spike. If there was indeed such a limit, so much for Twilight spending time with him for the rest of his life. He nervously looked for the page, and when he found something, his heart thumped. The title read Properties of Wishes. When he found the information, he let go one huge sigh of relief.

"No, not at all Twilight. It says here that contrary to popular belief, genies aren't limited to only three wishes per master. Old folktales used the three wishes rule to make things more interesting for their stories, whereas in reality genies only said there were three wishes because they usually didn't want to spend too much time with one master."

After hearing that, Twilight wiped her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, if a genie wished, they could be a master's genie for the entirety of the master's lifetime. It didn't happen that often, but there were cases where a genie became attached to their master as best friends or in even rarer cases... the genie fell in love with his or her master."

"Well that's good. And falling in love... that's pretty surprising."

"Yeah, very. The book also says there are indeed cases where genies have been with one master for the rest of their lives when they've come to like them as friends. I think you know already how close we are even before you became one. The book doesn't seem to have a definite length of wish terms, though."

"You mean like limitations? There should be. I mean, there was a section for wish properties. There must be one for limitations too."

Spike was looking out the window from where he was standing. He saw a bright orange sky decorating the outside view.

"Hey Twilight, shouldn't we be heading back to Malakhar's hut pretty soon? The sun's going down."

"We should, but not until tomorrow. Let's stay here for the night. I want to see a few more things from this book before we head back. Let's see if there are any limitations and rules of all kinds. I have this feeling that there has to be something that's limited, like perhaps overpowered wishes like immortality for mortals, or wishes that make someone automatically the ruler of the world. Or perhaps just as bad, violent and... I'll say 'naughty' wishes."

Spike raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean by naughty wishes? Like, a filly causing trouble or something?"

Twilight's pupils shrunk. She could not, under any circumstance, let him know about that kind of material at such a young age. "Oh nothing, nothing at all! Just forget I mentioned it." She made a less than inconspicuous grin. Spike blinked at her reaction.

"Ok... if you say so."

Time to move on. He kept looking through the book until he found a section titled Wish Morality.

"Ok, it says here that wishes such as immortality, or something similarly as powerful, both for the master or anypony else the master wants the wish to affect, are forbidden wishes. They technically can still be granted, but in Saddle Arabian law back when genies were still around, the punishment could be very fatal to both the genie and anyone who was made immortal. For examples, see page... ok, skip that part. We're only reading some more basic things."

"Spike, it could've shown some more important details."

"We really can't be bothered to look through the whole book in one sitting. We'll only need to figure out the basics, and you even said yourself, we can look at the book anytime we want. Besides, this whole genie thing just happened recently. It's just still weird for us."

"This all sounds weird..."

"Actually, considering this whole genie thing is weird in the first place Twilight, I'm not really surprised."

Twilight felt slightly dumbfounded. "Good point."

"Moving on... ruler of the world wishes are also forbidden wishes. Those who used those kinds of wishes had to be stopped by bearers of the Elements of Harmony in that time and after a few incidents, they pressured the authority of Saddle Arabia to crack down on it."

"Well, this is awkward considering I am one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I wonder if I'm even able to still wield my element as a genie."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she looked up to the ceiling in thought. After a few seconds of passing, she looked back at Spike. "Actually, nevermind. I'll think about it later."

"What else, what else... oh. Wishes regarding violent means like physical abuse, or even..." Spike paused to gulp nervously. "...murder, are sadly not as forbidden as some would like. Luckily, genies are actually the judges of choosing whether or not a wish is granted, so it is totally up to the genie to grant wishes or not."

That may have been just about the best news Twilight had heard from the book. "That is such a heavy relief. I can choose whether or not to grant a wish."

"There's more. This is a relieving case for the genie since there would very rarely be a sort of perverted masters who would-"

Before he could continue reading, he suddenly found himself pinned to the ground by Twilight's hooves.

"Are you sure you should be reading that part?!"

Spike coughed a bit from the impact. After hearing the unicorn standing over him, he rolled his eyes. "Oh please, I know about that kind of stuff already."

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. "Wait... really? How?!"

He shrugged his shoulders. At least, as much as he could from them being held down by hooves. "It was simple, really. One time while I was cleaning around the library, I found some drawer that I've never seen before. I was curious, so I opened it up. I thought it was just going to be filled with extra quills or papers or bookmarks or something. Inside were a few books all about that kind of stuff."

Twilight looked at Spike angrily. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You found the adult drawer?! Ugh!"

"Chill, Twilight. I didn't see anything that was real offending. Some of the stuff was even kinda funny."

Twilight's face flustered a deep red shade. She tried to hide it by facehoofing in disappointment. "Fine... go ahead and read it. Best to be prepared anyway."

"Well, I would if you got off of me..."

"Oh, right." Twilight lifted her hooves off of him. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off. He walked back over to the book and cleared his throat.

"As I was saying... there would very rarely be a sort of perverted masters who would wish for intercourse with the genie, or anypony else. The genie can outright refuse to grant such wishes like that if they occurred as genies didn't want to face the burdens of being the reason somepony died or themselves or anypony being violated in such a manner."

"Oh, thank Celestia! Not that I would think you'd even want to wish for that sort of thing. Just, if I ever somehow ended up in the possession of someone who _would_ wish for that, I'm glad I wouldn't have to grant it."

"There's some more about the overpowered stuff. A genie could perform necromancy with their magic, but it was also forbidden. That is, they can't bring someone back from the dead without those same consequences. One thing that was also forbidden was the ability to use genie magic to heal major sickness or injuries, as it would've been unfair to mortal ponies whose special talents revolved around taking care of patients in need of medical help. It would've made ponies whose occupations were doctors and/or nurses feel useless."

"Nopony wants that. I'll be sure about not having to ever do that, no matter how tempting it is."

"Let's see... oh, there were ponies that thought they could use prolonging somepony's life as a way of having a loophole around the whole immortality thing. If it was attempted after the third wish, the genie usually wouldn't like the greediness of the master even if the intentions were for a loved one that they really want to live longer. "

"So basically, if it's their time it's their, well... time, even with the power of a genie."

"You know those cases I told you about where the master and genie fell in love?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Why?"

"Well, as you know, genies are immortal and the master still gets old. The genie in the relationship would sometimes convince his or her master to wish to be a genie with them in the same bottle so they may be together forever. It says here that in a majority of cases, they did in fact do so. But sometimes masters didn't want to be a genie and it made the genies in the relationships upset. Some of them got desperate enough to trick their masters into becoming genies with them, which didn't end well because for anyone who found the bottle with the couple inside they'd have a constantly arguing and unhappy duo of genies."

Twilight frowned from the thought. "Yeah, that would be a terrible feeling. And is the one major downfall to living forever is, if you ever love someone., they're not guaranteed to be with you forever..."

Twilight turned away from Spike with a saddened look. He looked concerned, and was about to say something until Twilight spoke.

"When I was a filly, and you were sleeping, I once asked a personal question about that to Princess Celestia, because you know... young fillies especially one like I was asked all the curious and personal questions. I just innocently asked, 'Princess, what is it like to live for a long time?' without expecting the response I got. Celestia just looked at me all quiet-like and then stared at the horizon, then the sky, and she even drooped her head while exhibiting a rather depressing look. It was one of the few times that Celestia actually went quiet when I asked her a question and it was a whole new side to her that I rarely see and one probably nopony ever sees in public. A moment later, I walked away, and I swear, when I was just about to leave, I heard a faint dripping sound. We were next to a fountain so I suspected it was just a random drop that fell. But now I think I asked a question that was a little too personal and made her cry. I never asked her any questions like that one ever again."

Spike looked at Twi intently, listening to her story as if it hit a vibe with him. His eyes were watery than they've ever been. It really wrenched his heart to hear that. But it wasn't just the immortality thing and passing away of other loved ones.

And Twilight noticed his downtrodden expression. "Spike... are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." His voice didn't really hide the fact that he was deeply saddened by the story. Spike could relate to Celestia in this one. Dragons weren't immortal, but their lifespan ran up to more than five thousand years. At least with this story, he now knew he wouldn't be alone on feeling this way. Celestia had lived for millenniums, but the fact Twilight told him she would still tear up when she was reminded about the one downside of immortality doesn't really help. As it seemed, even somepony who has lived as long as her doesn't truly get over it. He wiped his face but tears were still forming on the bottom of both of his eyes.

Twilight felt like she had to do something. "Let's call it a night. It's getting dark out, and we've done enough reading for one afternoon. Let's just go to sleep."

"Yeah... good idea."

Spike wiped his eyes. Twilight used her magic to lift up her bottle, and placed it on the table by the wall. They walked together to the bed and laid down on it. In the same manner as before, Spike laid close to Twilight as she covered her tail around him. The covers then wrapped around herself.

"Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Spike."


	7. Chapter 7

In the dark hotel room, Twilight and Spike were fast asleep, snuggling close to each other for warmth due to the small size of the bed, as well as the blanket that was covering them. How a hotel such as the one they were staying in didn't have bigger covers were beyond them. Perhaps they would ask the hotel management for more blankets in the morning.

Most of the blanket covered the lavender mare, and her tail covered the small purple dragon next to her. They were feeling slightly cold, but this would be the last night they would feel that way, as Twilight would make sure to get more coverage for them. For now, all they cared about was sleep.

Spike was sleeping comfortably, despite using such a small object like Twilight's tail for a blanket. It must've been the way he was snuggling up next to her like a filly does her mother. Twilight, however, had a different opinion. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, though considering the small size of the bed as well as the blanket, and the fact she was sharing it with Spike made sleeping on it less than desirable.

Being a genie, Twilight also had another resting place, and that was her bottle, her genie container. While Twilight was in there, she felt nothing, yet something at the same time. Her mind was in a state of unconsciousness the first time she entered, so she couldn't feel, hear or see anything. As such, it felt completely different than sleeping on a bed. It was more relaxing, more exhilarating, more soothing. It felt like the perfect resting place compared to a bed.

Though that time, it was only for a few minutes. If only she was in there for a much longer time.

She was about to get her answer. Twilight was sleeping as soundly as ever, until her tail started to wave a bit. Spike could feel it, but stayed completely asleep despite the constant movements of hair on his body. Within seconds, it started to stretch outward in a certain direction, and that direction was toward the bottle. Spike started to mumble in his sleep, but the feeling of Twilight's tail brushing against him didn't even phase him.

Her legs then followed the same motion soon after her tail removed itself from her body. By that time, her tail had already entered the bottle. Twilight couldn't feel anything that was currently happening. She didn't have an exhausting day, but how she couldn't feel her body being stretched outward was rather mysterious. She was slipping under the blanket with relative ease.

Within the span of at least thirty seconds, her whole body was floating off in midair while connected to the container. Her eyes were still closed. She must've either been too tired to notice her whole body being sucked into the bottle again, she was too lazy to care, or she actually didn't mind, as being inside the bottle was very comfortable.

By now, only her head was sticking out of the bottle, but that soon disappeared as it was funneled inside. Once that happened, the cap floated back up to the top of the bottle where it magically sealed the opening. Twilight was now nothing but purple smoke swirling around the inside of the container, resting in there for the rest of the quiet night. Spike, on the other hand, started to feel cold since Twilight's tail was no longer covering his small body, so his hands subconsciously grabbed the blanket and pulled it over himself.

When the morning sun rose, the sunlight filled the hotel room. Light peered from the lone window and onto Spike's eyes. He groaned from the sudden brightness, and proceeded to tighten his eyes before opening them. He rose up from the bed, rubbing his tired eyes.

It took him a few seconds to gain awareness of his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that the bed felt somewhat bigger. "Huh, that's weird... feels like the bed isn't as small as it used to be. Hey Twilight, did you make the bed bigger, or something?"

He turned his head to the right, only to see an empty spot on the bed. In fact, his body was sitting in the middle of the bed instead of the close left edge where he used to be when he and Twilight started to sleep the previous night. "Twilight? Where are you?"

If anything, she must've woke up and left the bed already. A quick glance around the room showed that Twilight wasn't around.

"Did she leave again?" the small dragon asked to nopony in particular. He removed himself off of the bed. He thought to himself for a moment before a devious grin formed on his face.

"I guess while she isn't around..." He turned his attention to the bucket of gems sitting in the corner of the hotel room. "She wouldn't mind me taking another Saddle Arabian gem or two, hehe."

He started to inch his way closer to the bucket, already anticipating the sweetness of the gems in his mouth, their succulent tastes of the various flavors exciting his taste buds. Before he could reach his greedy claws over where the bucket was, his eye noticed something else. Something peculiar was odd about what he saw, even though he saw it before.

Twilight's bottle, her genie container, was glowing with a purple mist. It all made sense to the baby dragon now. Twilight wasn't feeling too comfortable sleeping in the bed with Spike that she decided to sleep in the bottle instead. Or another theory was that Twilight was actually nice enough to give Spike a big bed all to himself for once. At least, a bed big to him due to his small stature.

"Well, guess it's time to wake up Twilight."

Just he was about to reach for the bottle, something unexpected happened. The top somehow magically popped itself off, though considering how the whole genie thing was weird in the first place, this wasn't exactly surprising, although it did catch Spike off guard. After the top settled on the floor, the purple mist inside started to pour out. The room in that corner of the room looked misty for a while until the smoke formed into the familiar pony shape Spike was used to seeing. However, the formation was getting closer to him, almost looking like it was going to reach out and grab him.

At this point, all the small dragon could do was back up in fear. He tripped up on his heels and fell down on his rump. As the smoke fully formed, he had a shocked look on his face. Twilight had finally appeared from the smoke, appearing to be rather happy. Her expression showed the widest of grins, almost rivaling those of Pinkie Pie's.

"Good morning, Spike!" Twilight greeted in almost a loud voice. If it wasn't enough that her wide grin showed how happy she was, her current form of greeting was.

"Hey, Twilight..." Spike, said, trying to manage recovering his breath. "Why are you so happy? And why did you go back into the bottle? Was it getting too cramped on the bed?"

"Oh, much better than that, Spike. When I was in this bottle earlier when you left Malakhar's hut to get that book, I felt pretty good being in this bottle. It was a pretty comfortable feeling. But last night, I felt pretty tired. The bottle must've sensed this somehow and sucked me in without my knowing. I thought it was strange at first, but that was before I knew what effect it had!"

While Twilight was speaking, Spike took the time to get up from the floor and brush himself off. Spike had to admit, he was also getting more and more curious about all of these things Twilight was experiencing as a genie.

"Apparently, the longer I'm in this bottle, the more relaxed I feel. I'm willing to bet that genies only need to sleep for about the same time as average mortal ponies do. I tell you Spike, being in there for a few minutes is good, but being in there for _hours_ is just amazing!" Twilight threw her hooves up in the air in joy. "Seriously, it's like being released from the bottle after being in there for that long gives you a sense of euphoria. I'm so full of energy now that if I wanted to, I could bounce around like Pinkie Pie!"

Spike sighed. The last thing he wanted to see was another Pinkie Pie. "Well, I'm glad you feel happy Twilight. A bit too happy... but still happy."

Twilight giggled in response. The back half of her body slipped out of the bottle, and in a few seconds, her hindlegs and tail reformed themselves. "I'm guessing this is why Malakhar didn't want to release me minutes after he had tricked me into opening the bottle. He wanted to give me time in there before seeing me again. That way, I would've been in a good mood when he had a good time to release me. Of course, this worked in our favor, seeing as you were actually the one to release me instead of him."

A light bulb lit itself in Spike's head. "Hey, does this mean you're not mad at him anymore? I mean, you seemed pretty peeved at him for doing this to you, but now that you're all giddy and happy..."

The unicorn stared at him blankly. He really did have a point, and now that Twilight was experiencing the positives of being a genie, she was starting to like it. "To be honest, right now I don't mind. This whole genie thing is very complex, but I'm learning things about being one the more things like this happen. Maybe I am compelling to forgive him."

"We could go now. He did want us to be back at his house after we got that book."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. "He did, didn't he? I don't see why not. He does know more about genies than we do. You think you can carry my bottle for me?"

"Aww," Spike complained. "Why do I have to carry the bottle?"

"You have claws, remember? You can hold it while we walk."

"Oh, wait!" Spike turned around and walked up to the small bag that Malakhar gave him earlier, showing it to Twilight. "Malakhar gave me this bag to hold your bottle in so I don't have to carry it. Put it in here."

Twilight nodded her head. Her horn glowed, as so did the bottle. It guided its way into the bag, which Spike then swung over his back and strapped around his torso.

"I think we're ready to head back to his hut now. Let's go," Twilight said before she opened the door with her number one assistant in tow. As they left the hotel, Spike's stomach grumbled. He knew he should've taken a gem or two before they left.

It wasn't even fifteen seconds before a couple of ponies started to approach the unicorn and dragon duo. Soon, many of the Saddle Arabian citizens were standing around them, staringat them with awe. They were looking particularly at Twilight with no concern to her dragon companion.

"Twilight," Spike asked. "Why are all these ponies looking at you like that? Did you do something else while you were busy being geniefied that made you popular with the Saddle Arabians?"

Something clicked in Twilight's mind, and it was something that she remembered Kubuya telling her once about genies during one of their chats. "I think I may know. Apparently, genies are a popular folklore here in Saddle Arabia. Basically, the ponies that live here worship them like a deity."

"That must explain why some of them are bowing in front of you," Spike pointed out to a few ponies that were bowing as if Twilight was the Princess herself.

Twilight had to get through these ponies. She gave a poker face as she tried to move in between them. To her surprise, they actually moved out of her way to let her pass. She smiled and nodded at them as she went on her way, Spike walking next to her. Much to their chagrin, some of the ponies started following them. Not wanting to be a mean pony, the now-popular genie turned towards them.

"If you don't mind, me and my assistant here have something to do, so would you all kindly let us go on our way?"

A loud "aww" was heard from the group of ponies following them before they dispersed from the location to go about their own businesses. Twilight and Spike both sighed in relief and smiled to each other. Since they now had breathing space, they continued their trek toward Malakhar's hut. Their small journey still came with various stares, but they eventually arrived with no problems.

Once they entered, they looked around for the stallion, who was nowhere to be seen. Twilight stepped forward to look in a little more. "Malakhar? Are you here? We're back!" she yelled, hoping to get a response.

Drowsily, Malakhar slowly but surely walked out of the next room to answer the call. "Who would be here this early?"

He rubbed his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw Twilight and Spike standing in front of him. "Oh, you two are finally back..." Malakhar said, his words accompanied by a yawn.

"Excuse my tiredness... I'm not used to waking up this early."

At this point, Spike got an idea. He whispered something in Twilight's ear, and she smiled and looked back at Malakhar. "Alright, we'll fix that little problem of yours. Spike, go ahead."

Spike nodded his head. "Twilight, I wish Malakhar was wide awake."

"Excuse me?" was all Malakhar could say before Twilight's horn started glowing. A small puff of smoke appeared from the stallion's face, and his mind felt a bit more clear and aware of his surroundings.

"Huh... looks like you figured out about the wishes. Thank you much for using one to make me more awake. I needed that." He stretched his limbs out, and an audible pop was heard.

"You're welcome. I thought it'd also serve as something apologetic for treating you harshly. Even if I'm still a bit miffed you tricked me in the first place... But in any case I can't quite place my hoof on it, I'm actually kinda liking being a Genie..."

At this shocking development, Malakhar raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Twilight reassured him in a calming tone. "The whole time, I was seeing some of the things genies can do and the references to the history of past genies, plus some discussion with Spike made things a little interesting."

He looked at Spike, who simply nodded in agreement. He then looked back at Twilight. "Then I suppose you figured out thatyour little firebreather friend is basically your master."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Malakhar, I'd rather not think of Spike as my 'master'."

"Oh, my apologies Twilight."

Twilight nodded with a smile and continued. "Now I think I know why you wanted us to find out ourselves through a book rather then you telling us. You were afraid that if I knew, I'd ask Spike to give me some sort of fire blast or anything else in revenge for placing me in that bottle." Her face then shifted into a devious smirk. "And I guess at one point, back then with my mood and all, I would have done it too."

Malakhar laughed nervously. "Heh, yeah... I had figured that."

Twilight shook her head with a smile. "Well, I'll let you know that I don't have any hard feelings anymore. I almost want to thank you for actually doing it because it was fun."

"Very interesting. I suppose I could give you a very awkward you're welcome, but there's something else I totally forgot about when I decided to do this whole thing. It is very problematic, actually."

Both the mare and dragon looked at him with anticipation. "Yes?" they both questioned simultaneously.

"You do have a choice if you want to remain a Genie or not."

Now, both Twilight and Spike looked at Malakhar with surprisedexpressions.

"You don't have to decide now. But if you wish to go back to being a normal pony, all Spike has to do is wish you free. And that's it."

At this point, the lavender unicorn beamed. "That's it? Seriously?"

"Yes."

She just facehoofed at the sudden realization. "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Once she removed her hoof, her expression then went down. "So, that means..."

He only nodded. "Yes.If you are wished free, you will no longer have your genie powers. You will be as you were before you became one. Not only that, but the bottle will no longer be magical. It will essentially be a normal bottle if you are freed. The freedom wish can happen anytime."

Her eyes were a bit wide now, and so were Spike's. There was even more information that they were getting that the book didn't explain. "Well gee, that's quite a decision to make."

They all stood in silence for a few seconds. Twilight had that amount of time to collect her thoughts and process everything the beige stallion told her before looking back at him.

"Let me see if I have this right. Based on my decision, I can either remain a genie,or go back to my normal life as a mortal unicorn. It's a really tough decision. The book showed all the pros and the cons of being a genie. But at the same time, I really liked my normal life too. I suppose I could still be a librarian even as a genie, even if I got odd stares because of the attire I have on."

"You don't have to be so quick about your decision of whether to stay as a genie or not," Malakhar reassured. "You can take a little time to think about it-"

Spike interrupted him. "Well, that makes things even better! That means you can stay as a genie for a longer time, and get to enjoy it even more, so when you do decide to choose, you'll have a better idea! I say you should stay like this for a pretty good amount of time so you can get the full joys of being a genie. Besides, it's not like you have a time limit to decide, right?"

Malakhar just shifted his eyes, and Twilight noticed this easily. She could sense that something was wrong. She gulped and asked nervously, "There is a time limit, isn't there?"

He sighed in response. "Yes... there it is. And it's not a very long time. Twilight Sparkle, you only have three days to make your decision. If you do not wish yourself to be turned back to normal before then, you're stuck as a genie for another thousand years."

All Twilight and Spike could do at that moment were widen their eyes and drop their jaws.


	8. Chapter 8

"T-Three days? We only have three days?!" Twilight asked in the most surprised tone she could speak.

"Yes," Malakhar started, "You have three days to make your decision. After that, you're stuck as a genie."

After Twilight and Spike collected themselves, they continued to stare at the stallion as if he spoke the most ridiculous story ever. However, Twilight couldn't deny that what he explained wasn't true, as he did know more about genies than what she and Spike read in the book.

"But..." Twilight spoke with difficulty. First she was feeling quite content as a genie, but as soon as the news hit her, she became panic-stricken. "I didn't think we'd have such a short time limit. I mean, three days doesn't seem like quite enough time to make such a big life-changing decision, plus the fact if I don't choose to return to normal within the short time limit, I could not be freed for the next one thousand years!"

Malakhar shook his head in guilt, knowing he was at fault for Twilight's transformation. "This is my fault, Twilight. I have to admit, when I tricked you into becoming a genie, I wasn't thinking straight."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the stallion before he continued. "You see, I knew that turning a mortal pony into a genie was possible, and you know that now; not only did you witness it happen to you, but that book you retrieved from the library even explains everything as well. What I didn't tell you until it was almost too late was what I just told you moments ago, which was the time limit. I didn't even consider what you would have to go through for the next thousand years if you were forced to choose within such a short time, and if you didn't choose in time, you would be stuck like this, and would have to face the burdens that came with being a genie."

Twilight's face lightened up a bit, but she still remained calm, prepared for anything. "Burdens? Like, the cons?"

"Much more than that. I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. You know, those you care about."

It was then that it hit Twilight like a rock. All the ponies, family and friends she knew, loved and grew up with would probably be all gone before the one hundred year mark would come, excluding the Princess whom is immortal, and Spike who would live for approximately another four thousand, nine hundred ninety years or so. It was a lot of weight to put on a pony's shoulders.

"If you would wish," Malakhar said as he turned away from them with a blank expression. "I'll give you until the rest of the time limit to decide what your decision will be. I will be quite busy myself. I've caused enough trouble to last one thousand years, so it would be best for me to get out of your mane until it's time to make your decision. Come back when you have. Remember, three days. Or, now it would be two days since about a day has passed since the transformation."

Twilight gulped in anticipation of the fear she would have to face in pondering about the decision. Slowly, but steadily, she nodded her head and turned around toward the door with a downtrodden look.

"Come on, Spike," she said to the young dragon as she looked at him. For whatever reason she noticed, he looked quite sad himself. In fact, she didn't think she had seen him even more sad than ever before. He was looking down at the floor in melancholy, staring into nothing. This was something Twilight had to look into later, but for now, she felt they had to leave.

"Spike, let's go." That was enough to wake Spike from his trance, and his attention returned to the lavender mare.

"Right," he responded as he secured the bag with the bottle inside on his back before following Twilight out. Malakhar looked back at all of the other pottery decorating the room he was in with that same blank stare.

"I hope your decision becomes an easy one, Twilight Sparkle, because once you make it, there is no turning back."

As soon as they returned back to the streets of Saddle Arabia, Twilight and Spike were once again crowded by the citizens. This tempted Twilight to give a sigh, as she really did not want to deal with this again. Calmly and politely, she had them move aside in the same way as before and moved forward.

All throughout the day, they visited many buildings and shops, same as they did when first arriving into the city. Although they already had a good bucketful of the city's specialty gems back at the hotel, Twilight bought some more for Spike out of courtesy for his seemingly downed expression. She had to figure out what was causing his discomfort, but she figured to do that once they returned to the hotel.

Interestingly enough, they once again met the guide that first greeted them when they arrived. She was surprised and ecstatic about Twilight's newfound genie self, same as any other Saddle Arabian, and one long story short was all it took for her to understand fully. Still, she could not comprehend the fact that there was now an actual living genie in the present time, even after hearing the story.

After a farewell to the guide, Twilight noticed the sun setting down behind the horizon. She took that as the cue for her and Spike to head back to the hotel. She offered Spike one of the gems to eat while they traveled, but he simply said, "I'm not very hungry now, Twilight..."

That surprised the unicorn. Usually, Spike would give anything to eat a gemstone, especially one of the Saddle Arabian variety. There was something going on with Spike, and she needed to figure out what. She made that her priority task before figuring out how to go about her decision regarding staying a genie or returning to normal.

After reentering their hotel room, Spike removed the bag from his back and placed it down on the floor. Using her magic, Twilight removed the bottle from it, being extra careful not to drop the delicate container, and placed it on the table. Even though she made it her priority to talk to Spike, the thought from the time limit entered her mind again.

She paced back and forth around the room, processing the facts of the situation and figuring out how to solve them.

_Three days. Seventy-two hours... or however many hours there are left since a day had about already passed since I was transformed into a genie._

She looked down at a hoof, admiring the hoofband wrapped tightly and magically around it before looking sadly at it again, reminding her once more of the situation she was in. She placed it back on the floor as she resumed her worried pacing.

_Less than seventy-two hours is all I have to decide if I wanted to be a genie for one thousand years, or if I want to return to a normal, mortal pony. Although there are still a lot of genie magic and effects I want to check out and learn about, and even experience, that would only dwindle the time I have left to place my choice._

Her expression dropped further into a frown as she looked at the floor dismayed. The curiosity was getting to her in a way that was making her lean toward staying a genie.

_I really want to see everything there is to being a genie. That would be easy if I didn't have a time limit, because if there wasn't, I could stay a genie for as long as I want, and go back to normal whenever I felt like I had enough fun. I would stay until I at least have tried everything, or almost everything, out._

Twilight sighed, and the difficult thinking was giving her a headache. She put a hoof to her head as she groaned from the frustration.

After removing her hoof, she turned to Spike, her number one assistant turned away from her, sitting at his lonesome, staring down toward the floor. Now it was time to talk to him about his feelings since they received news about the time limit from Malakhar. She couldn't let this go. She needed to see what was up. And she was going to find out.

She cleared her throat, breaking the silence before speaking. "Spike? Are you alright?"

Spike just stood there silently, not saying a word. After a few seconds, Twilight repeated her words, but again, he stayed in his spot, continuing to stare down at the tile floor. She frowned again from the ignorance of her voice, and proceeded to stand directly behind him, lowering her head down so that it hovered next to his ear.

"Spike!"

At that moment, he screamed loudly, falling forward and sending him crashing down upon the hard floor. After recovering from his unfortunate fall, he groaned before standing back up, still facing away from the unicorn. Not even that was enough to phase him out of whatever he was feeling.

"Spike, please turn around and face me. I know something's wrong, and I want to know what it is."

He sighed, and when he turned around, she saw something even worse than what she saw of Spike earlier in Malakhar's hut. If anything, he had a really depressed expression the likes of which Twilight had never seen from anypony before, except for one time, and that was from Princess Celestia herself. It was then that something clicked in her mind, something that made Twilight exactly sure why he looked like that.

It was the same exact expression she saw on Celestia's face when she was reminded about how immortality hurt her because she witnessed many beloved ponies' lives pass before her very eyes. It was enough to even make her shed tears, the likes which Twilight had never wanted to see.

She knew why Spike was feeling it now. "Spike... this is about that dream you had, and my decision, isn't it?" she asked calmly to the small dragon, to which he nodded slowly.

He was having _that_ nightmare again. The one where he was the big, strong dragon he had always wanted to be. Giant wings, humongous body, and fearsome claws and teeth that could instill fear into anypony that looked at them. It sounded like a nice dream that any dragon his age would love to have. At least, it did at first. However, it hid a deeper meaning. The dragon that was Spike didn't look happy. He was actually rather really depressed.

The setting of his dream was him sitting in front of six tombstones arranged in a hexagon somewhere in the Canterlot graveyard. Directly behind the six stone plates stood a much larger stone plate with a gold plaque that had some very commemorative writing on it.

_HERE LIES THE FORMER ELEMENTS OF HARMONY_

Though he was a big adult dragon, he still felt like the small baby dragon he is now. Deep inside that big heart lied his smaller, younger self. He felt alone. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Twilight, would all have passed away long ago by that time. For thousands of years, he would be looking at those tombstones, and reminding himself of all the best times of his life with all of his friends, especially Twilight. Despite his massive size, old age and developed maturity, he would still cry his eyes out.

Unfortunately for the depressed dragon, the nightmare wasn't easy to forget. Surprisingly enough, the Princess' younger sister, Princess Luna, didn't appear to help Spike get through his depressing dream. Not only that, but the dream only showed his older self. In reality, Spike was still his young, immature baby dragon self. Because of this, he hardly knew about the complete understanding of the cycle of life yet, and the fact that it could become a reality based on Twilight's decision scared him even more.

Throughout all the time Twilight had been processing all of everything Spike was going through at the moment, sad, scared and terrified, she had come to the conclusion of his true feelings. But she had to be one hundred percent sure. "Spike... you don't want me to change back, do you?"

"I'm sure you thought well about it..." Spike responded in a monotonous tone. "But yeah. I know that, when I grow up, all of my friends that I've grown to know and love won't be there with me. However, if you stayed a genie, you would live for at least one thousand more years, and I wouldn't be alone."

"Oh, Spike," Twilight moved forward and wrapped a hoof around him, pulling him into a tight hug, to which he returned, wrapping his arms around her as much as he could. "You wouldn't be alone if I did choose to go back to normal. You would still have Princess Celestia there with you."

"True..." he muttered while trying to fight back tears. "But if there was anypony I would want to grow up with for the rest of my life, it would be the one pony that hatched me at birth and made me her number one assistant, the one pony who would be there for me no matter what for my long dragon lifespan. You, Twilight. Not the Princess... you."

He held on tighter, and the more he did, the more Twilight's heart wrenched.

_I... I don't know what to say. I've already had enough pressure being put on with this decision, and now Spike's mood is now going to be affected by all this. This is, no doubt, going to be the absolute most difficult choice I've ever had to make in my entire life. Do I stay a genie just for the sake of making Spike happy for a thousand more years of his long life, serving Celestia for an eternity, seeing Spike grow up to full size, and not get one day older as I watch my friends and family pass away? Or do I go back to normal, disappointing Spike, dying at around the same time of my friends, and dooming Spike to essentially the reality of his nightmare he's been having?_

After what seemed like a few minutes of embracing each other, Spike finally let go of Twilight, wiping a bit of shed tears out of his eyes. "I'm sorry if I'm pressuring you with my nightmare, Twilight. I don't want to influence your decision too much and end up having you make a decision you'll regret later. If you really want to go back to being a normal pony with no genie powers, then I'll wish for it. I want what would be best for you, and I don't dream of a reluctant Genie Twilight for the next one thousand years. That would just be conceited of me. I dream of Twilight Sparkle, the one pony who would be ultimately happy about her decision."

At that point, Twilight gave him a heartwarming smile. "Thank you Spike. I'm proud of you for telling me all of this. Yes, it'll give me a lot to ponder about when making my decision. But, it'll make things better for the both of us, I assure you."

Before she could say more, she emitted a deep yawn that could compare to the queen of naps herself, Rainbow Dash. "But I'll have to think about that starting tomorrow. For now, all I dream of is rest in the bottle."

"Alright, Twi. Guess this means I have the bed to myself for the night," he chuckled as he turned to look at said bed. After climbing on top of it, he attempted to make himself comfortable within the sheets, and placed his head on the fluffy pillow, now finally comfortable from the amount of space he had.

"Goodnight, Twi."

"Goodnight, Spike."

In an instant, the young dragon began sleeping peacefully. Though those thoughts were still haunting his mind, he felt comfortable knowing Twilight didn't judge him because of what he wanted, and not what she wanted. Twilight yawned herself, and after a long day, she closed her eyes.

The process of the bottle sucking her up began, turning her tail into the smoky fog, then her body, and finally her head, all of it flowing into the bottle until she was completely contained in there before the cap sealed itself onto the top.


End file.
